The Family that Plays Together Stays Together

The last few weeks have been jam-packed full of familiar family visitors which has been quite the treat. The first to arrive was my very own brother Alex Bafeep! For the last few years he has been in the Coast Guard, which pretty much means I never have any idea where he is living at any given moment. (I probably could know, but keeping up with his whereabouts is somewhat exhausting.) If you were to ask me right now where he is I could at least point you in the right direction- somewhere between South Carolina and Virginia- but that's about it. Sad, I know. As you can imagine, not knowing where Alex actually lives makes it a little difficult to actually see him face-to-face. However being the loving brother that he is, my address somehow ended up on his GPS while en route to San Antonio for a visit with the parentals. I was totally psyched to have entire night out with the little bro. We spent the evening at a local bar playing pool then ended up on our balcony listening to Al strum his six string while sipping on White Russians. Pure loveliness. The next day Nick and I gave him the tour de grande and drove out to Seaside for some delicious pies at the Pizza Bar. Unfortunately I had to leave for Gainesville to attend a software training seminar so Alex headed on down the road to his next vacay stop. (Obviously not fair...)

The next group arrived the following Friday and consisted of Nick’s brother Kris, wife Ashley, and daughter Adriana. Ashley and I set out for a relaxing evening with the girls to see Sex and the City 2 then met up with the guys afterwards for beer and basketball. The following night we ventured to White Sands for a little bowling with Nick’s mom and Jesse, where I just-so-happened to get on a hot streak. Unfortunately my better half was struggling to get a triple-digit score… but I guess you can’t win everything all the time, right? Three games, three different winners (YAY for me, Jodie, & Kris) and fun had by all.

Wednesday brought the largest group yet when Nick’s extended family headed down from Colorado. Let me just say that my mom has a big family and this is the first time I have met one that even holds a candle in the size division. Just as fun. Just as wild. Needless to say I had a wonderful time. Nick’s sister Angie also came in town from Mississippi and we were able to get a two-on-one Yoga session in with my boss (who moonlights as a Yoga instructor- love it). It was nice to have some solo bonding time in the midst of all the chaos. Plus, any activity that burns calories is bonus points in my book. I was able to take Friday off work and the twenty-plus of us rented a couple boats and spent the day at Crab Island. I have never seen a more packed speed boat/clown car in my life, but everyone had a great time and the weather was gorgeous. The really good news is that we only had one near-death experience. Note to readers: If you insist on jumping off the front of the boat while it is in motion, first make sure that what you are in is a pontoon. Those few milliseconds of floating underneath the hollow bottom might allow your driver an extra moment to cut the engine and stop the propellers from slicing you to bits. (And no, I was not the person who jumped off the moving boat. At least not this time.)

Moving right along, we were also able to celebrate Meme Spencer’s 80th birthday with a dinner at Pronzos! Then we later found out that her birthday is months away. (It’s no wonder she was surprised by the dinner party.) They figured the best time to celebrate was when the majority of the fam was together, and it was so awesome to be a part of such an important family gathering! All-in-all it was a great visit with the Spencer fam and I hope they come back to visit again next summer!


Just when we thought the company was gone… Alex managed to find his way back to Casa de Nick and Roz! And this time he wasn’t alone, which was even more exciting. Memorial Day was spent zipping through the city on scooters at breakneck speeds of 40 mph with my honey Nick, bro Alex and his girlfriend Chrissy. I was a huge fan of this activity because I got to actually got to drive- Nick rode on the back (classic). A trip to the snow cone stand was a must, then it was home to do some baking for Alex’s birthday festivities. Turning twenty-one should not be taken lightly, and it is recommended that a tall glass of milk and some chocolate iced cupcakes are present to soak up all the alcohol. Seeing as how my cooking skills are sub-par (understatement) I somehow managed to turn these said cupcakes into muffin-looking edible objects after overflowing them in the pan. Then I ended up with extra mix, which led me to create the smallest birthday cake ever recorded in Wik family history. But both were delicious so I didn’t hear too many complaints. Pointing and laughing? Yes. Ill-spirited cooking jokes? Yes. Complaining? Not so much. So perhaps presentation isn’t important so long as your treats are tasty. Or here's hoping...

I leave you with these--- Happy 21st Birthday Alex Bafeep!!