Surprise!

I was super, super bummed that I couldn't make it to Joseph's graduation or the official graduation party. It was really tearing me up inside, until my ever-resourceful girlfriend suggested that we just drive up on our day off (Monday) and surprise him! What a great idea. So after our shows Sunday night, we hit the road. We left Philadelphia around 10pm and got to Homer, NY around 2am.



Our plan was to sneak into the house without waking Joseph up, but that didn't quite happen the way we'd planned. Unbeknownst to me, my parents had started letting our dog Molly sleep indoors. (What a spoiled puppy!) Instead of sneakily slipping into the house and waking Joseph up in the morning with a surprise, Deb and I were greeted at the door by a barking, growling attack dog. Molly the dog was convinced that two shady girls were trying to break in and hurt her family! Needless to say this woke Joseph up from a deep slumber and he stumbled out into the kitchen, thinking that he was going to catch himself a burglar. Imagine his surprise to see his sister and her girlfriend, bearing a huge laundry bag full of graduation gifts. We exchanged hugs and went to bed.



The next morning.....


Joseph opened all his gifts. I think this is enough junk food to get him through a day of dorm life. I made Mom promise to hide it until it was time to move in to the dorm, because I knew that otherwise it wouldn't make it through the summer.

After breakfast, we decided to hit the Shipwreck Mini-Golf course. It was hot as hell outside and half way through the game we decided to stop keeping score and just fool around. Here's Joseph lining up a shot.

This is proven mini-golf technique: standing on the rocks will always get you a better shot. Naturally I chose the pink ball.

Yes, this is Joseph pretending to poop in the shark's mouth.

This is what happens to people who violate Rule #10 at Shipwreck: No profanity!

This poor dolphin was missing his dorsal fin, so Deb is giving him some extra love.

Deb's proven technique. Works every time.

After the game, we decided to get ice cream and get food for the BBQ. Oh, yes, we had a BBQ. This makes our 4th SPONTANEOUS BARBEQUE of the season. Dad, Deb, Weas and Molly the dog relax on the Man Porch before we got to eatin'.

Look at this fierce beast. I think she feels a little bad for growling at us the previous night.

It's eatin' time! (And for Mom, drinkin' time!) Matt and Weas joined us for dinner, and with the exception of Jonathan, the family was complete. Notice how no one at the table is really smiling... they don't want to be interrupted from the food!

Yes, I had to take a picture of my plate. This is the perfect summer meal. Clockwise from the top: salt potatoes, a hamburger, vinegar summer pickles, corn on the cob. And a yummy salad to the side.

Joseph was completely tuckered out from all that good eatin'. Fortunately we were able to rouse him for....

A game of cornhole! (Yes, I know. Seriously, that's what it's called. No, I didn't make that up. Stop snickering.) Matt and Deb were a great team.... and Deb was an awesome player, especially considering it was her first time playing cornhole. (Yes, I said it again.)

An action shot of Team May trying to defeat Team Not May.

It was pretty much a perfect day. We concluded with a bonfire and of course that meant s'mores. It was a beautiful night-- the lightning bugs were out and the mosquitos were not. There's really nothing better in the whole world than good food, good family fun and a bonfire.

The next day Deb and I drove back to Philly and back to the grind.... but our hair still smelled like campfire and we couldn't have been happier to get away for such a relaxing day.

Happy graduation, Joseph!