31 Awesome Things in 31 Days: Thing #9—Host a Teetotaler's Drinking Party

The spread. The watermelon and pineapple were perfectly ripe—super delicious. 

Well, we made it back from our Houston trip. The drive was much faster coming home, somehow. Maybe it was the stuffed animal kitty that Momma Grover let Holls take home with her (whenever she would wake up prematurely from a nap on the ride home, she would start to cry, see her kitty, kiss it, shout, "MEOW!" and then fall back asleep. She slept for maybe four of the nine hours we drove home), or maybe it was just that David and I made efficient stops and chatted for most of the drive. In any case, we are home safe and sound, though missing Houston terribly. Our trip was very, very fun.

For the first time in Hollie's life, the trip was not only stress-free, but a stress-reliever. We remembered the last time we drove to Houston, making pit stops every three hours for Holls to nurse, and trying to keep her from having those diaper blowouts so prevalent during the first six months of babydom. She hated her car seat, had no interest in looking out the windows (not that she could see anything except the back of the seat), and then slept horribly once we made it to her grandparents' house. This time, she slept in a pack-'n'-play with almost zero fuss, and she actually took longer naps than she typically takes at home. She learned to climb up and down the stairs leading to toy room on the second level, and she learned to run around barefoot outside with the big kids.

It is nice to be home, but lonely, too.

Anyway, to avoid dwelling too much on how crummy it is to be planted directly in-between and too-far-away-from both of our families, here are some pictures of our Mocktail Party that designated the end of this particular Houston adventure. This was a reprise of our Thing #24 from last year, and I think it is quite likely that a Teetotaler's Mocktail Party is pretty much a Grover Family Summer Tradition at this point.

Dave's sisters brought the necessary crunchy-munchies and delicious home-made dips and cookies to complement the mocktails. And no Grover family get-together would be complete without a stack of board games, even if only half of us end up playing them.

Mixing some cocktails. The rules were that everyone had to (1) name their invented cocktail and (2) write down their ingredients so the recipe could be documented for our posterity. Unfortunately, the lovely people (for whom I am very grateful) who cleaned up after our huge mess (while I was blogging it up in the bedroom about the Palladium) accidentally threw away the stack of these ingredient lists with the rest of the trash.  

Jon sipping his "Fuzzy Memory." Jon, do you remember what you put in this? I'm assuming the "fuzzy" is peach juice? Leave what you remember in the comments and I'll edit this post from there. 

Whittney's "Something Sparkly," a citrusy mocktail with, I believe, an orange juice base, white grape juice, and either Ginger Ale or Sprite. Am I off, Whittney? I feel like there was a little more to it.

Angelo and his pineapple-inspired concoction. Does anyone remember what he called it?

Miss Mary, what was your drink name? It looks very cranberry. What did you put in that thing?

Claire's I remember—a Chocolate Fizz. Chocolate sauce, milk, and something else—what was that final ingredient? It made all the fizzy difference as I recall. I wish I had those recipe sheets! 

Charlotte's "Something Awesome." The list of ingredients was admirably complex, but the part I remember the most was the final touch of a syrupy hibiscus blossom which added a hint of the Hawaiian tropics to this fruity drink.

Jen's "Garden of Eden." A blissfully sinful mixture that, knowing Jen, almost surely had its base in Coca-Cola.

Liz showing off "Yo Granddad's Clothes." The process for this drink was lengthy and very scientific. A lot of fruits were soaked in this drink only to be removed and replaced with new fruits for a complex medley of nuanced flavors that together really packed a punch. Or something. What all did you put in Yo Granddad's Clothes, Liz?

Aw, geez. David is two rooms away but I am too lazy right now to go find out what this shot was called and what it consisted of. I'll edit this post tomorrow after church. It's midnight and I wanna go to bed.

This is mine—the "Muddy Surfer." I remember giving it a Coke and orange juice base, with a little cranberry and little more pineapple. It was a dirty tropical masterpiece. I'd drink it again. Sure.

Gabe going after the maraschino cherries.

Sarah and her "Watermelon Crawl." She mashed up watermelon for the base of this delicious drink. It really was delicious. She made everybody drink some, and we really were literally impressed. In fact, I think next year we should start making everyone submit a thimbleful of their drink for an Official Drink-Tasting Contest, complete with glittery prizes. Sarah's "Watermelon Crawl" would have been a competitor for sure. Jamba Juice would sell the junk out of that drink.

Gabe's "Sine," which I take it is a calculus reference/joke? What are you all teaching this young man, Jen and Andy?

David's second drink, complete with sugar rim. It was good. Too sweet for David. Not too sweet for me.

Little Andrew and his "Your Mommy," which is somehow too endearing of a title to be insulting.  I wish I could see what ingredients he had listed on the back of that card!  

Luke drinking somebody else's drink that he found, haha.

Cute Claire's second, and more fruity attempt: "Watermelon Awesomeness."

This one threw up at our drinking party last year while eating watermelon before really getting that whole solid food thing down. This year, she ate the crap out of watermelon, and then downed an entire chocolate chip cookie singlehandedly. She seems so petite next to the other kids, I have wild and crazy desires to just beef up those little ankles and thighs as fast as I can!

That's all, folks. If anyone can remember what they put in their drinks, let me know and I'll edit accordingly. 

Also, I've got a video of Jon making Hollie dance like a maniac that I'll post tomorrow. I'm beat. To our Houston family: thanks for a super fun week, and for taking turns watching Hollie for us. We miss you all already. 

Thing #9: Host a Teetotaler's Drinking Party, again = ACCOMPLISHED.