Under One Roof

Sunday, August 19, 2018 - Me and my three: Jacob, Dylan, and Sarah.

It has been a full week for our family. One week ago today, Mark and I drove down to Mesa to take care of a couple of projects at Jacob's place (I'll blog about that trip soon), and then we returned home on Thursday night. The next day, Friday, Jacob drove up to spend some time with us, and he just headed back home this afternoon.

Nothing makes my heart happier than having all my kids together, gathered beneath one roof. I'm so grateful that they feel the same way. Whenever Jacob is in town, they find every opportunity to spend time together. It makes for a busy, crazy, sometimes-messy-and-always-fun time, and I love every minute.

Saturday, August 18, 2018: All of my kids together: Jacob (in back), 

Sarah and Chris (center), and Dylan and Jake (front).

Of course, food is central to pretty much any family gathering, no matter what the culture of the group, so we all planned and prepared and enjoyed dinner together every night. We even went shopping together. We had to work around schedules sometimes, but we managed it.

Saturday's dinner: One-Pan Tacos.

Friday night we had grilled chicken thighs with bacon-wrapped cream-cheese-filled jalapenos.

Saturday night we had One-Pan Tacos, which is eaten by scooping it up with tortilla chips. High-quality toppings are a must, like my homemade guacamole chock-full of green onion, tomato, and chilies. The sour cream container and guacamole bowl were both scraped clean by the end of the meal. (Dang, I was hoping for some guacamole with my eggs the next morning!)

On Sunday morning, Sarah treated us to biscuits and gravy, along with hash browns and sausage links. That evening, she also provided our dinner of delicious Mexican chicken casserole, with potato chips and toasted onion dip on the side.

On Monday morning, Jacob made us breakfast burritos filled with scrambled eggs, diced chilies, cheese, and bacon. Yum! For dinner, we had grilled burgers with home-fried french fries.

Taco toppings: sour cream, homemade guacamole, and chipotle salsa.

Dessert is also an important consideration. If I were rich, I might suspect my kids were trying to kill me off with an overdose of carbs, but I just can't seem to say no. It was cheesecake on Saturday night, Jacob's homemade lemon bars on Sunday, and fresh-baked deep-dish brownies last night.

Every evening, a rousing game of Skip-Bo or Uno.

And every night ended with several games of Skip-Bo or Uno. My kids love to play a variety of games together. That's not really my bag, although I do sometimes join in. Mostly, I love to simply watch them and enjoy their goofy camaraderie. 

Jacob with the beard still on...

While we were grocery shopping, I even managed to convince Jacob to get a haircut, and he surprised me by shaving off his entire beard. I don't mind the beard at all, but I admit that I do prefer to see both my sons' gorgeous faces. Plus, his beard was getting to be pretty shaggy. (Still don't know why both of my blond boys' beards grow out red!)

...and then the beard was gone!

By the way, Jacob recently got braces on his teeth. He's never liked the spaces between his teeth, so he never shows them when he smiles for pictures. I'm hoping that, when the braces come off in a year and a half, we'll finally get to capture his big, beautiful smile on film!

Chris with Razz and Jacob with Lucky (both are Jacob's dogs).

We also spent some time this week watching movies and old TV shows together, and the kids took a long hike with their dogs (Sarah's Diego and Jacob's Razz and Lucky) along the Mogollon Rim Trail on Monday. It doesn't matter what we do, as long as it's together. As for his lodgings, Jacob took turns spending a night with everyone: one night at my house, one at Sarah and Chris's house, and two nights at Dylan and Jake's place.

Now that Jacob is headed back home, my house is quiet and calm and uncrowded again, which has its own kind of charm. However, nothing can compare to a house filled with family. I always miss them when they're gone.

Diego unleashes his inner beast at the edge of the Mogollon Rim.

August 20, 2018