WOW. I had such a great time with my family visiting me this Labor Day Weekend. Friday my day became better right around Noon time when my sister texted me that she was off from work and now could also visit me here in Jersey. I was psyched. Madre, Padre and Zannie all visited me. It's definitely very tight quarters of family bonding when it's all 4 of us in my tiny one bedroom one level condo unit, but I love it. There's nothing better than getting to see my family. I was very excited, it was their first time here since February President's Day Weekend. These weekends when they visit tend to be a blur, as I'm so blessed to hear from many of my friends excited to come out and see my family. I'm very appreciative when friends take time out of their busy lives to see my family visiting from Mansfield, Ma.
Friday we had an early release day for iHeart employees. Offices closed at 1, so I was able to bounce out of here a little early. I was able to relax for a little bit with bestie Jasen at Minerals Resort outdoor pool. This was very helpful because my Fantasy Football Draft was happening Friday night. I looked at him and said "thank you, I know me, if I'm at home waiting for the draft to start, I'll just be alone pacing back and forth in my place going stir crazy. It was much better for me to be out and about as opposed to being inside and overanalyzing my future likely bad decisions.
CBS Sports grades each team on how they feel the draft went. They gave me a B+, which I think is pretty accurate and decent. I reached on Saquon Barkley for The Giants. Most drafts had him going around 10, and I was picking third overall. If I didn't take him where I was it was certain he wouldn't be an option for me. It's so fun loudly cheering him on at MetLife Stadium during Giants games. It's enjoyable to have a local angle that you can cheer on with other local people. I'm a fan of Saquon and think he'll have another terrific season. Hopefully I'm right. Basically I am trying to zig in fantasy football when everyone is zagging. My team is a little weak at the receiver position but definitely strong with the running backs. I have Saquon, Derrick Henry from The Tennessee Titans, and Alvin Kamara from the New Orleans Saints. Kamara I was able to steal because he's suspended the first three games this season. Once he returns to action, I plan on playing all 3 running backs at once. Most have dodged running backs, instead focusing on high profile receivers and quarterbacks. I'm definitely bucking that trend. Will it work? We'll see. At least it kept me busy Friday night.
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Saturday morning it's time to clean before my family visits me! The pressure is on. I always try to have my place clean for them. Madre has had her housecleaning career for over 30 years, so the pressure is definitely on me for sure. She gave me an A-, I'll gladly take that all day! They meant it because other than my awful kitchen sink, they didn't have to really help me clean anything. Success!
Saturday my family made it to me after an approximately 4 and a half hour drive. From Mansfield, Ma to Vernon, NJ it should take 4 hours if no traffic at all. Considering it was Labor Day weekend, they did okay.
I had a charcuterie spread set up for them (bought from a grocery store of course, I'm not talented with charcuterie game like some of my friends. I had ice cold beverages ready to go for them when they arrived. After all that driving just to see me, it's the least I can do.
After we enjoyed an ice cold beverage together on my deck, I came up with the idea to take my family to Crystal Springs Infiniti Vista 180 Pool. It's my Heaven on Earth happy place, and my parents had never been. They absolutely loved it. We were able to enjoy a round together at a table that had a perfect view of the pool, Wild Turkey Golf Course and the valley behind it. The summer breezes were absolutely perfect. My family was very happy I took them there, they absolutely loved it.
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My parents and sister started to get a little hungry. I'm often guilty of not feeding The Clowns early enough. I tried to be much more proactive with that than I usually am. I came up with the idea of bringing them to their favorite place just 7 mins away, yep, The Irish Cottage Inn. We were able to run into besties Artie and Mayor Paul. Peter from The Cottage is always great about coming over and saying hi to my family. It didn't even take a minute for my sister to throw me under the bus for not having an Irish Cottage Inn tee shirt like me. Artie and Peter laughed and joked and said "you've been asking him for a year and a half? Your brother has no clout here let's make this happen." Within minutes Peter came out with a green Irish Cottage tee shirt for my sister. She was very happy. They were all happy to bust on me joking that I have no clout there.
Saturday night we enjoyed Minerals Moonshine Tiki Bar. My parents and sister always look forward to seeing my friends there every year. This was their first time at Tiki all year because they had to stay home this past Memorial Day Weekend.
Sunday we did projects. Padre did my slider blinds over which was fantastic they look great now. A few months ago the whole thing randomly fell down and it's been patchwork for me ever since. Instead of trying to fix what might not have been fixable, Padre just started brand new with a whole new set. Success! Pain in the neck, but success. While he was doing this, Madre and Zannie were out sweeping my deck. Sadly, we discovered that my electric grill no longer works. I haven't used it in two years, I think the weather finally got the best of it. Now my family knows what they can get me for my birthday in a couple of months. I do want to get back into grilling on my deck. It used to be one of my favorite things to do, having people over and grilling for them. I was actually honestly pretty decent at it too. I haven't had people over much the past 2 years, but I do want to get back into that again.
Sunday afternoon we went to a cookout at besties Sally and Doug's place. We had so much fun running into old friends and making new ones. Gio and his Dad were grill masters for sure!
Sunday night we were able to hang with besties Carrie, Jasen and Brendan. We shared many laughs from so many stories.
Monday it was their return to Boston day. We did our farewell lunch at The Cottage. Per usual, I'm the first one to start tearing up. Miss my family so much. I'm grateful for the time I was able to spend with them. Thank you for reading my Epic Weekend In Pictures. Time to start planning next weekend. Maybe NJ Taco Fest?