A and B, Chris, and the National Boogie-Man Convention

Today we took Chris to Philly so he could fly to CA for a few days to help his Mom get her house ready for market. We saved $230 or so after you take into account the amount spent in gas there and back twice. I'm not sure what the return trip will be like when we bring him home, but I have nothing but pleasant things to say about today. This is because I have family in Philly. So we didn't have to turn right around and come back home.

We went to the home of my cousin, A, and his wife, B. A's sister, my cousin B, was also there, as was their mother, my Aunt G-G. These are good people and *every* time I am with them I find myself thinking that I have *got* to find a way to get together with them more frequently. But it is 3 hours and 45 minutes from door to door and that does spread out the visits. (They also have a strict no real names on the internet rule which is very smart of them and we would too if we hadn't already used our real names for so many years that that would just be hopeless of us.)

We briefly entertained the idea of going to the zoo there today because it was so deliciously beautiful out and the zoo was celebrating Seuss's birthday. But the clouds rolled in and the sky acted like it was thinking of bringing in real rain--and so we settled in for an afternoon of board games and watching a movie and playing with an old XBox and that sort of thing. A and B's son, K, wasn't quite sure what to make of my gang, but eventually seemed to decide that they were as good an afternoon's entertainment as anything else, and he played happily around us in the way that very young people do. I worked on fixing a knitting problem and tried, unsuccessfully, to keep from getting sucked into Ice Age. But I failed. It isn't long before you really want to see Manny return the little squirt to his grieving Neanderthal father.

Eventually we packed up and hit the road and I called a neighbor friend to take care of Emily when I was an hour into the drive and still seemingly in the gravitational pull of Philadelphia. She very kindly agreed to take care of the dog and I drove the rest of the way with some really tired little boys. Three hours later I pulled into the driveway where I was astonished to see a fresh coat of snow all over Pine Grove Mills. We really do live on the side of a mountain. Sometimes I forget that.

Anyway, we came in the house through a side door and up the stairs and found the front door WIDE open. Oh, jeez. I have a HUGE fear of the Boogie-man when Chris is not home. I can really make myself nuts worrying over nothing when he's not home. I check the level of the wood pellets and it was clear that there was no way the door had been open all day. It made perfect sense that the door just hadn't been closed perfectly behind the neighbor when she came to take care of Emily and that anxious Emily had opened the door herself when she found the opportunity.

Nevertheless, I had to call Chris (who had just landed in CA) and have him reassure me. He told me in no uncertain terms that there was NO WAY that the Boogie Man was hiding in the house somewhere since he had sat elbow to elbow with a large number of Boogie Men during the trip out and it turns out that this week is their annual convention in the Bay Area (which, if you think about it, makes sense. I mean, the weather is a little warmer there and the Bay Area is strange enough to host all those guys.)

So, reassured that the local Boogie Man is at the convention taking seminars this week on how to be a Better Badder Boogie Man . . . I now feel I can go snuggle up with my littles and my dog and go to sleep. (The littles and the poodle all know that when Daddy is away, they get to sleep in Mommy's bed ALL NIGHT. They think this is because there is more ROOM in the bed. Only Mommy knows it's because Mommy is a BIG CHICKEN.) Good night, everyone. I hope your Saturday was as full and satisfying.

P.S. B, if you're reading this, I humbly request your recipe for the lunch meat we had today. Max *never* eats that much (real) lean meat. He'll only eat pseudo meat like chicken nuggets or faux-hamburger. I *know* Chris would love that recipe, too.