Surprise!

I was lucky to be able to go home again this year to celebrate the fourth of July and some other family happenings. It was great to go home and see everyone, but it went by much too quickly. I think I did pretty well though, I managed to pack a lot in during my short stay.

I flew up Tuesday the 3rd and stayed in Rochester for the night with my cousin Maureen and so we met up with one of my college roommates and went out for a few drinks. It was noisy, crowded, and took forever to get a drink- ahhhhhh, it was good to be home.

The fourth was a very rainy day, which meant it was perfect for one thing and one thing only. No, not fireworks- it was raining! Shopping. And when your cousin Maureen (who is accompanying you on your trip) works at the Gap and can get you a discount at Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy- well like I said, you go shopping. We got some awesome deals, and had to make a quick stop to pick up some underwear for me since I somehow forgot to pack them. Yup, not one single pair. Not my brightest moment.

Coming soon to a Doublemint commercial near you

Time at home was spent on the river jet skiing and enjoying my time off. The water was only like 60 degrees and I wore board shorts and a sweatshirt while laying out in the sun- but I loved every second of it. Welcome to upstate New York. Another plus was enjoying a delicious "dagwood" sandwich. Mimp (my grandfather) makes these famous triple decker sandwiches that I just have to have every time I am home. It has been duplicated many times, but never mastered- no one can make them quite like Mimp.

Probably not getting too much of a tan

Action shot of Mimp making my dagwood

Some other trip highlights- going to Ottawa for dinner and a show at Absolute Comedy, a comedy club we have been to once before. One guy was so bad, I was laughing out of pity for him because seriously, not one other single person was laughing. Ouch. My parents had a little porch party at our house while my dad's college roommate was in town followed by dinner and plenty of drinks. Oh and I think Maureen scared away a potential boyfriend for our cousin Katie with some drunk antics after the bar one night. Ha ha. I'll leave it at that.

TJ and I at dinner in Ottawa

Outside of Absolute Comedy after the show

Me, Katie, and Maureen

Porch party at the Hannan's

Then there was my cousin Dustin's 30th birthday bash. Which brings us to the highlight of this post- the video. The birthday party was a surprise party for Dustin and his two best friends Andy and Duke. The three of them grew up together and are still best friends, all celebrating their 30th birthdays this summer. Sounds like reason enough for a party. But come on, like we really need a reason for a party! Although it rained the whole afternoon it was still an awesome time and I was glad I got to be there for it.

Andy, Duke, and Dustin- age 7

Andy, Duke, and Dustin- age 30

Apparently the dress code called for jean coats and khakis

"We are family, I've got all my sisters with me" (or cousins, whatever)

So now to the video- I feel I need to kind of let you know what is going on before you watch it. So Duke started dancing in the garage and noticed a handle attached to a string hanging down from the garage door opener. So he decided that jumping up to hit the handle with his head would be a great addition to his dancing routine. If you know Duke, then you know he is hilarious and that this is completely normal. So Duke jumping to hit it with his head led to just about everyone else trying to do it too. And if you were too short (like myself) then Duke would lift you up. Good times. So then jumping and lifting got old and Duke decided he would try and kick it Rockette style. So that is where my video begins... ending with Maureen attempting the high kick and a drunk celebration dance between her and my cousin Molly. Please keep in mind alcohol consumption began around 2 pm and it is now well after 10 pm when this video was shot... enjoy! I know I did! (sorry it's so dark, I am an amateur videographer... and we were in the garage)