Double Trouble

You think this is a dude or a chick?

Welcome back to the Houghs, readers.

I gotta tell ya, folks, from a parenting perspective and everything, throwing a combo party for your kids is seriously the only way to go.  I think I'm throwing the girls' combo party for extended family from this point forward, it's soooo much easier than coordinating two different parties that are only separated by three weeks.  And gone are the days of having family and friends about at the same party.  We tried that once for what was, hands down, the girls' biggest party ever - the behemoth combo party of 2016.

Nearly 75 people - family members, the girls' friends, their friends' parents, random neighbors - all stuck under a pavilion at Plymouth Park in the pouring rain.  Kids made out like bandits, for sure, but that was waaay too many bodies in one space.

Abby, Abby's tablet, Grandma, and Louis.

This year, on account of the girls' new trampoline and everything, we're throwing three parties, spaced out just enough to keep us sane.  We already had Abby's party with her friends on May 21st, and we'll have Alayna's with her friends on the 16th of this month.  Smack middle in between the two, we have a combo party with family members on all sides.  Nice and simple, two birds with one stone.  That's how I like it.

Overall, I think it went okay.  As a host, you don't really get to sit down and talk with people very much - I kinda just floated around (with an SLR in hand, taking all these f***ing pictures - surprise, surprise) - but I got to mingle here and there.  The girls had a lot of fun, and that's what counts, I guess.

Anyway, here's how the girls' combo birthday shindig went down.

Enjoy the hell out of these pictures, folks - I didn't get to sit down much on account of 'em. . .

I'm assuming Louis just did something funny.  Maybe he farted.

The only non-family guests in attendance were our stalwart camping friends, Smitty and Rita (at left.)  They had planned on coming up this weekend anyway, before we had even thrown together the idea of a birthday party for the girls, in order to plan our upcoming camping trip in the Upper Peninsula at the end of the month.  We're all big fans of collaborative strategizing.

Grandpa Chinery made it out, as did Uncle Jeff (sans any members of his family, due to conflicting schedules or something.)

Bradley asks the boys if he can play with the Noah's Ark set.

In the background, the girls open up Uncle Chris and Aunt Nicole's combo present - a cornhole set for the backyard.

Louis.

The Cannonball.

At least the weather held up - a lot of folks stayed out back and enjoyed our park-like grounds (and Chris' personal cornhole set.)

Jax, you're doing it wrong.

Papa and Grandma Jordan.

Blake came out after awhile and promptly began pissing off his brother.

Grandpa and Papa John mostly hung out on the back patio as well.  Too nice out not to (though I can't wait until we screen this whole thing in, about two years from now or so.)

Abby demands competition out back. . .

A rare moment of cousinly quietness.

Cake time.  As you can see, Kris really put her heart and soul into this year's cake for the girls.

Digging into the sugar

Nana was nice enough to give Kris a hand in the distribution of junk food.

Some neglected healthier options.  Kinda hard to compete with cake and ice cream.

The twins staked out the living room early on.

Hanging out in my Study (and breaking a cardinal house rule by eating over my rug, but hey - have to be civil with the in-laws and all that.)

Digging into presents (Smitty and Rita gave them some camping lights, and stuffed the rest of their gift bags with tons of small bags of Doritos (the girls are notorious for eating all of Smitty and Rita's Doritos whenever we go camping.)

Jax and Papa John give Watson a rub down. . . not that he's an attention whore or anything.

This is a super random assortment of people if I've ever seen one.

Grandma Jordan and her glitter-filled envelopes strikes again. . . all over our living room rug.

. . . but the girls were fine with it so long as their was cash inside.

Some drawstring bags, clothes and accessories from Aunt Jill and fam.

(Jill always does an awesome job with this, as it's probably one of the only time she gets to shop for girls, seeing how she has three boys and everything.)

Grandma and Papa John bought the girls a membership in the Midland Gymnastics Center, where they'll start taking classes starting on the 13th.  Alayna probably won't stick with it long, but Abby's practically born for this sort of thing, and has been asking to take lessons for quite awhile now.

Abby didn't understand what the piece of paper was when she opened the present, so Kris had to kinda break shit down for her. . .

. . . with some gymnastic outfits thrown in for good measure.

Folks started to leave shortly after presents were opened, about two hours into the party.  After awhile, the only folks who remained was Chris and his family, and Smitty and Rita.

Who knows why the dog's so pissed off, here.  Maybe he wasn't served cake and ice cream, I don't know.

Abby, funned out with all the noise and commotion of the party, retreats into her tablet to play a gymnastics game that she's obsessed with (a shocker, I know.)

Alayna blows Smitty's mind.

After Chris, Nicole and their dynamic duo left for home, the four of us spent the next few hours planning out our upcoming camping trip in the far reaches of Northern Michigan.  I'm sure I'll have more than enough tales - and pictures - to share with you in the coming posts.  Stay tuned.

- Brian

Thanksgiving in Romulus

Happy Clintsgiving, America!

Alas, there will be no Clint and no Voigts this Thanksgiving.  The Houghs are no longer in Orlando, as you know, and we have no intention of flying back down to Florida in order to celebrate a holiday that, frankly, neither Kris nor myself really gives two hoots about in the first place.

You heard me, Thanksgiving.  You're not that cool, and lately you really just serve as a shopping incentive during the early stages of the Christmas season.  Consequently, Kris and I really don't get overly excited about celebrating you.

Well, since we're back in Michigan now, and around family once more, we have to start caring about Thanksgiving again (instead of just using it as an excuse to go over to the Voigts' house to watch the Lions lose.)  Since my own family shares my disdain for this holiday, we turned to Kris' family instead:  her mom's side of the family always holds a major family get-together down in Romulus (where most of them are based), so we carpooled down there with Marcy and Scott to celebrate Thanksgiving this year.

And will probably continue to do so on a yearly basis from this point forward. . .

Watching the Lions game (Scott's son and his wife are at the far left, followed by Kris' cousin, Colton, her aunt's Margie's husband, Patrick, and Yours Truly.)

Abby springs into action (in her Thanksgiving dress, of course.)

The girls run over to Kris' uncle Wayne's house (where the meal was being prepped.)  We were staying next door at her aunt Margie's house (yes, they live directly next door to one another.)

Kris' cousin, Scarlett, her aunt, Mickey, Marcy and the Cannonball, and. . . I forget.  Their family's frickin' huge.

The girls watch some TV with their aunt Lily.  Yes, the girl on the far right there is technically their aunt (Kris' mom is the eldest of seven, and Lily is the youngest daughter of Marcy's youngest sibling.)

Making potatoes.

More kitchen prep with Kris' uncle, Wayne (I helped by staying out of the kitchen.)

Two of Marcy's sisters, Maxine and Mickey (Mickey is Marcy's twin, Maxine is the second youngest.)

Circling items for their Christmas Lists in a toy catalog.

That dog (Captain) is huge - and he's only a year old.

Chapstick time (the kids go through it like crazy up here on account of the cold and dry air.)

Watching the game

Alayna, Abby and Lily hung out most of the day, which kept them occupied and out of our hair.

Mashing potatoes.

Kris' aunt, Margie, bringing pies and baked goods over from her house next door (where we're staying.)

Healthy snacks.  From L to R: potato chips, Cheeze Its, and cookies.  While watching Despicable Me 2.

Scarlett

The Laginess Clan

With the exception of a few individuals (Mickey's kids and their families, and Margie's younger son), this is everyone.

Margie and her grandson

Those are Margie's two boys, Andy and Cody

More chaos (playing with Scott's walker is a favorite pastime.)

Waiting patiently for dessert.

After dinner and desert, we drove over to Kris' uncle Jeff's house, where they were having a huge family Thanksgiving for members of her dad's side of the family.  

Kris' cousins and some of their kids (and no, I can't remember who's who in her extended family, and I've been around since '98.  To my credit, my dad had one sister who had two children, and my mom had one brother who had three children - my family is small.  Kris' mom had six siblings, and her dad had five siblings.  Each of them had between two and five kids apiece, sooo. . . yeah.)

Hammin' it up for the camera.  Par for the course, really.

Attempts at a group picture. . .

Abby started to get pretty tired while at Jeff's, but Alayna was having a blast, so I let Abby play games on my phone to buy Kris and Alayna more time to visit with her dad's extended family.  Never fails.

We eventually returned to Margie's  - later than we had expected - and put the girls to bed in the den, while Kris and I slept out on their sectional.  I slept like a frickin' rock.

- Brian