end of summer

{Begging for food all day wears a dog out.}

Every year we have an end-of-summer barbeque. We've been having them ever since we got married - this was our 12th! {And boy, does that make me feel old.} A few of our friends have been coming since the beginning, and we were talking about how different the parties have become. When we had those first few barbeques, they would last until the next day - with several people sleeping over. It didn't even matter where they slept - floor, couch, lounge chair outside... Now our barbeque lasts until 8 at the latest. Most of our friends have to get their children home and in bed at a decent hour.

On Sunday, we had so much food left over that we could've had another party. Since our friends Wendy, Daniel and Aidan couldn't make it on Saturday, they came over on Sunday. Aidan is Malayna's favorite friend. They've known each other since they were about 18 months old and have always gotten along really well. At this point they're like an old married couple.

They were playing in the kiddie pool when Malayna started whining. And wouldn't stop. At first Aidan seemed to be ignoring her, but then he said, "If you don't stop acting like that, we'll have to leave. If you stop acting like that, we'll stay." What?! It was so hard not to laugh!

Since teaching Malayna to have manners is very important to us, we always have her thank our guests for coming and walk them to the door. She was really tired and cranky, but humored us, walked them to the door and said, "Thanks for not sharing."

{buddies}