Weekend run-down

On Friday night, Megan and I went to Jamie's 30th birthday party in Des Moines. That girl knows how to throw a party! Lots of people, food, decorations, and even a D.J. I know this will be hard to believe, but I did not have my camera. :( I will have to snag a few of Jamie's pictures when she posts them. Just a week shy of turning the big 3-0 myself, I shotgunned my first beer. It wasn't exactly what you would call successful. I got three-fourths of it down and thought I was going to explode...exactly why I was always too chicken to try it during the glory days of college. Dean's cousin can down one in three seconds. Impressive. And a side-note--I actually met a few people who follow this blog. Very nice people, in fact. It kind of, sort of baffles my mind that people who are (were) complete strangers would find my random ramblings entertaining enough to read on a regular basis. I just knew my degree in journalism would come in handy someday. Ha.

Dean's Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Sandy were in town from Ohio for a few days so we were able to spend lots of time with them over the weekend. It is always wonderful to see them! We did another shrimp boil while they were here. I think this is one of my favorite meals. So fun. And so good. I posted about this last year--you boil corn, onions, shrimp, sausage, potatoes, and spices in a huge pot and just dump it all on a paper-covered table and eat it without utensils. How fun is that?

Try really hard to ignore Dean's slippers...

Aunt Sandy and Grandma covering our table with paper.Ayla, say "cheese!"
Adding more ingredients to the pot.Dean getting pointers from Grandma.
Capturing a rare moment...if you get a hug from Ayla, it's your lucky day.