Weekending it

Without even realizing it, this weekend was packed with commitments.

Friday was September 11 and I had a later shift at work which allowed me to sleep-in and make cookies.

It's always hard to gauge the staffing needs on the anniversary so although I was supposed to work until 9:30 pm I was able to leave around 7 pm.  Fortunately this got me back home around 8 pm, just in time for rooftop dinner with our Couples Club.

You could see the Tribute in Lights so perfectly from Brian and Emily's roof.

This is our last Couples Club as a group of four couples.  Josh and Lynn will be in Pittsburgh and in just over a month there will be a baby in the crowd.  It was a bittersweet gathering but I was so glad I was able to attend.  I hope we can continue the group somehow.

Saturday morning, Dan and I rolled out of bed and worked non-stop all day prepping for the going away party we hosted for Josh and Lynn in the afternoon.  Things were moving along swimmingly until the darn hard boiled eggs refused to peel with ease.  I tried about four before getting completely overwhelmed and frustrated.  Dan patiently sat at the sink for over an hour peeling the eggs.  His tedious efforts produced a plate of deviled eggs devoured in quickly at the party.

Our new steel chairs arrived just in time for the party and lucky for us our chair cushions still work.

I snapped some pictures before the apartment overfilled capacity.  It was crowded and hot.

Emily brought over a gorgeous cake which was rainbow inside!!! I've never seen a rainbow cake in person and it was lovely and delicious.  

It ended up being top heavy after she cut it and it fell over onto the sideboard and covered, a picture frame, the lamp stand, and the TV remote in frosting.  No joke.  Why the TV remote was over there I'll never know but everything got cleaned-up and the cake was still edible.

Eventually the adults settled down in the living room.

And the kids took over our bedroom.

You guys, Dan found a full plate of food under our bed when we were cleaning-up after the party.  Part of me expects to find potato chip crumbs under there for months.

It was an exhausting three hours but a success.  Dan dutifully helped me clean-up everything and then I proceeded to make four quiches plus brownies for church events the next day.  Phew, it was a long day. 

Sunday was our Missional Sunday at church.  This is when we go out into the community and do service as opposed to our normal Sunday classes and sermon.  A group of people went and served breakfast to the homeless (that's what the quiches were for) and the rest of us went to the park and hosted a picnic for the local organization that houses adults with developmental disabilities (that's what the brownies were for).  We planted flowers at several of the homes at the beginning of the summer.  See that back here.

We were so blessed by sunny weather since it was predicted to rain all day.  We played human bingo and kickball and everyone filled-up on sandwiches, salads, and loads of desserts.  I love being around the residents.  They have such a loving and carefree outlook on life.  So friendly, welcoming, and spirited.  We all got so much from them even though it was an event for them.

After church Dan and I finally had an opportunity to relax.  Now that football is  back on TV, that's the entertainment of choice.  I made chicken corn chowder for dinner to start off our fall cooking.

Then we took a long walk to get ice cream, as our official toast to summer.

This morning was frigid outside (it's weird how 60s feels warm in April and freezing in September).  I had to wear tights, long sleeves, and a jacket.  It made my heart cry a little BUT we have another heat wave coming this week so I'm pumped for near 90s in a few days.

Happy Monday!