We Party Like Rock Stars

Blake flew in on Friday, August 1st. We were there to meet him, and surprise of all surprises, the plane was late. This time it was over an hour late, so we waited in the lounge near the gate. When we thought it was time to meet the plane, we went out to the gate and waited there. We didn't have long to wait before this guy showed up.

Question: How do you get a soldier to a Chucky Cheese type of establishment and expect him to have a good time. Followup question: How do you get a bunch of adults to have a good time at the same place at the same time? Well, we had a great party at IT'Z on HWY 249 Saturday night. Friends and family gathered to welcome the returning warrior back to Houston. Everyone had a great time, as the pictures show.

We were surprised to see his brother, Dusty, who was able to make it in from Dallas. We had thought he would have to work the day of the party, but we were lucky as he was able to get off and make the drive down.

Some of Blake's friends join us at the party. Here's a pic of the whole gang. It was great seeing them here for the event.

Long time friends Bill and Kathy were able to come. Kathy was snapping away with her camera, so we're hoping that there will be more pictures soon. Most of the adults there had known Blake since he was a little kid and would have thought that this place was the greatest place in the world to have a party.

Kayla was able to come, too. She met Blake when he was about 5 when we worked together at Patrick Henry Middle School together. She's still teaching now, and thankfully is not taking the advice of well-meaning friends who tell her about great jobs in other schools and then leave. Hmmm...

Then, there was this guy who walked into my 5th grade class. He looked so sad, I just had to offer him the seat behind me. We've been best buds since. Dale, a recent retiree from one of the biggest oil-glutting companies in the world. But don't get him started. He's brilliant, so he'll not only tell you how wrong you are, but have you thanking him for pointing out how foolish you were in the first place. We're hoping that his next "graduation" party is not as eventful as the first. Worchestershire? No thanks, I've had enough...

Dale's better half, Dara, collaborates with Bill's better half and discover that they went to the same middle school. Small world, or global conspiracy to keep track on the three of us... I'm not telling.

Jen and Susan come in from Katy to wish Blake well as he starts his career in the Army. That adorable brunette is Elizabeth, one of Jen's twins.

These two stole the show as the last picture shows. Catherine, a cute blonde, spent the night sitting on my lap, and no one was jealous. I'm shocked! She was a heart-stealer. I could have stayed like this the rest of the night, but after a long and brutal fight, Jen pulled them away from me.

And so the party ended. Blake will be reporting to his duty station at Ft. Hood on Wednesday. We're going to be driving him up, and from there, who knows? It was good to see everyone though, and even though I don't have a good picture of Susan to put up, that will be coming up soon.