It was a Celestial Event, on the order of February's excitement when the Comet Lulin passed within 61 million kilometers of the earth: it had been TWO YEARS since Aunt and Uncle Flogan passed through California for a visit. But when they are orbiting within 22 million centimeters of us (that's 137 miles, for you non-metric folks) they can't help but submit to the cosmic pull of our hearts.
The kids got right to work showing off their artistic talents, evoking the kind of praise and attention that only their enamored relations can give them.
Before anybody got too comfortable, however, J-Girl had some important research to do for the school newspaper. We whisked everyone over to Daphne's Greek Cafe, a new eating establishment in town that J-Girl was assigned to do a restaraunt review on. This was a strategic move on her part, because she now had two world travelers along who had been to Greece a couple of times and would be able to critique the authenticity of the cuisine.
From the music to the salad, to the hummus, to the baklava and everything in between, it was two thumbs up!
Though we did need to walk it off a bit afterward.
The next day we gave the obligatory tour of the office, then enjoyed the beautiful weather out in the backyard. It was a lovely time to get an eyeful of J-Girl beautifully bonding with nature as she does. She inspires poetry.
And it's amazing what you can learn in your own backyard, too. Did you know that the goldfinch is Iowa's State Bird? With an abundance of them taking pleasure in our pond and waterfall, we will always feel like those Iowa Flogan's are with us!
Hey! Look who's happy to be home from school!
With the gang all back together again, we were able to have a little belated birthday celebration for Aunt V.
J-Girl took off for a weekend in the snow with her friend K. It was hard to say goodbye so soon.
We went to the park to surround ourselves with more kids, but it just wasn't the same. J-Boy had a good time though, and we enjoyed watching him and his buddy A.
Oops. Who was watching them?? "Not I," said the Mom.
That's better.
We stayed until the lights came on, and were far from the last ones to leave the park! But we were able to witness another astronomical concurrence, with Venus dancing so close to the moon.
From the blog, Ephemeral Ruminations:
A very close conjunction of the crescent moon and a bright star or planet can be an awe-inspiring naked-eye spectacle. The English poet, critic and philosopher, Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) used just such a celestial sight as an ominous portent in his epic, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.”
For us it meant...PIZZA!!
Oh, yeah. That was some GOOD pizza!
It may look like these two are lazing around after a heavy meal, but even on "vacation" they get up and run (and run, and run) every day. I think we eat in a day what they eat in a week. Big Daddy and I have to work really hard to fit on that sofa together...but it can be done!
The weather was so gorgeous that we maximized our outdoor time on our last day together before the Flogan's headed back to the f-f-f-freezing temperatures of Iowa. We dined on the patio of a little brew pub in town.
We walked along the waterfront neighborhood and visited our "duck friends" and the coots. And we were treated to a sure sign of Spring's imminent arrival. We were very excited to see a few red-eared slider turtles in the water. Then Big Daddy noticed that each big one had a little buddy. But the careful choreography of the pairs shed light on the true relationship of these couples.
Note: If you get the error message that this video is unavailable, click the little "HQ" button at the bottom. Not sure what the problem is, but that fixes it...
Then we got a wild hare. Get 'im, Vic!
"That is really getting old. You embarrass yourself."
Ok, so we got a wild HAIR and decided to have a campfire in the backyard. Big Daddy did the grilling.
Uncle J. harvested the kindling we've been growing since the peach tree threw a hissy fit over having to share space with the pond.
How honored we were to be present when the Flogan's roasted marshmallows together for the first time! They've been together for over 20 years...you have to wonder what they do with their time!
Alas, just as the cosmos are ever evolving and revolving, the Flogan's orbital path continued beyond the reach of our gravitational pull. We released them lovingly, and have our hearts ful lof memories to hold us over till next time. Which we all agree will be sooner than TWO YEARS from now! We love you guys and miss you very much!!
So much to love about this post, family, fire, turtles, crafts, playdoh.
So glad you got to have fun with the family.
Posted by: Alisa | March 13, 2009 at 08:39 AM