The Royal Family of Done Ham

February was jolly well packed. I mentioned that, right? We began the process of moving Dude and Dudette into their new home, had two birthdays, had out-of-town friends stay with us for nearly a week, and hosted two get-togethers with old college chums. Other things filled in the few cracks that were left, and I'm left with the memories of cooking-- lots of cooking. :)

John and I have known Joel and Sonya since college days. They were talented, lively, and interesting then, and now they're joined by three talented, lively, and interesting children. Elsa, Nora, and Beatrice are about the same ages as Piper, Luci, and Aidan, and after a bit of awkward warming-up, the children became fast friends over drawing games, story-telling, singing, and sledding. It was a joy to meet them all and to re-connect so easily to Joel and Sonya even though over a decade has passed since we last saw each other.  (This is the professional manner in which Joel and I coordinated the reunion. Take notes.)

Thankfully, Ezekiel stole the camera when the Dunhams were here and captured more than cooking, though there's evidence of that, too.

Millie and I tag-teamed on the only important food-- doughnuts.

Zeke shows a flair for photography, don't you think?

The morning after the Dunhams arrived was Valentine's Day, so we invited Heidi and her sweeties here for a party. One of my favorite parts of the whole week was when we sat around the table cracking up over Joel singing "Canadian Woodchuck" and resurrecting the boy who sees the world in hoagies, pirates, and toys. Twenty years vanished, and the Houghton cafeteria materialized around the edges. Life is better now in many ways, but fishing up joyful spots from the murky past is good, too.

This is what the children were doing as Millie and I cooked.

Games and friends. I love this one because Zeke surprised everyone with a lucky guess!

A couple of days later, we had J.P. and the Eckley family over for the evening.  Jason brought a box of comics which transfixed the children for a spell.

Skylark and Jason bonded instantaneously, and she stayed by his side until he left late that night.

For those Houghtonites who haven't seen Beckley in years, he's just as handsome and charming as he ever was.

I think this is the only picture I took of Amy and Sonya. Boo to cooking!

Jason pulled out all his children's librarian tricks to get the children dancing.

Zeke took too many pictures.

The weather cooperated during their stay and afforded these southern girls with some bonafide SNOW! They didn't let it go to waste.

Beatrice had a fever for a couple of days, and Aidan helped her recuperate by watching children's shows. What a gentleman.

I don't remember the name of this game we played. I remember I was overtired and grumpy, though. You wouldn't know it by looking at this snapshot. Meticulous fashion choice, as always.

Zeke and Beatrice look nearly identical.

See?

Sonya brought Millie a few skeins of gorgeous yarn, and they had some quiet evenings knitting together.

The children built an impressive sleeping fort their last night here.

And these early birds woke up before anyone else on the final morning of their stay. I fed them bread crumbs....tuppence a day.

Aidan was utterly taken with Beatrice, who greeted him the first morning after their arrival with a sword in each hand (what better way to become a friend to Aidan?), and after they left, he asked us to call him Beatrice for a while.  Just last week, he said, "Remember Beatrice?"  Yes, I remember Beatrice.

What a cutie.