Met the Author

First things first...I got Yip and Yap (really Baker and Bailey) yesterday morning to keep for the weekend because Kim is off to her ladies weekend. I forgot to warn the neighbors but I'm sure they know by now that the dogs are here. I've never cared too much for Baker before because she's a prima dona but she's not well and it breaks my heart to see her move so slowly. She's losing weight and just not acting like her old self. One of those dogs peed on the rug, too, but no-one will own up to it, just looked at me with big innocent doggy eyes.

Now to the fun stuff. Faye and Gary picked me up about 5 P.M. to take me to meet Val and Kyran for dinner. I hadn't seen Kyran since she was a little girl and now she was a published author!! Faye suggested we take our "Planting Dandelions" book so Kyran could autograph them for us and I'm so glad she did.

We first went to Val's to pick up any of the girls who happened to be there but only got Leah because the other two were working. I love Val's girls..they are so loving and nice. Then off we went to the restaurant where Carson works for dinner...she doesn't work for HER dinner but that's where we were going to have OUR dinner. LOL!

Adam, Yvonne, Avry, and Sydney were there so I got to see Sydney for the first time. She's 4 months old and has the wildest, reddish hair you've ever seen. She's adorable with fat little cheeks and such a great temperament. At one point, Yvonne put her in her little carseat to have a nap and she covered it with a blanket. A while later she asked Leah to see if the baby was awake yet and darned if she wasn't wide awake behind the blanket and not fussing at all.

Val and Kyran took too long to arrive so we all ate without them. I had what I thought were sliders but they were like little sandwiches filled with sausage and stuff, good but odd.

Val finally texted Yvonne to say we should all just go to her house and they'd meet us there. They were actually at Val's when we got there and meeting Kyran as an adult was almost like meeting an old friend. I already knew her pretty darned intimately from reading her book and had seen lots of pictures and videos of her. She is really a beautiful lady but surprisingly tiny, not short but delicate build.

I see a lot of her mother in her looks and mannerisms, too. I've always thought that Kyran looked more like her father but there's much of Marilee there, too.

Val's friend, Carol, was at the house, too, so we made quite a rowdy bunch, drinking wine and yakking. The women pretty well outnumbered the men so they didn't get to say much. LOL! Without being pretentious, Kyran told us what it was like to be an author and what was expected of her, like booksigning. She's new to this but has gathered a network of friends who are also authors who have kindly helped her along the way.

It was a pretty riotous evening with lots of laughter and even some information about Spanx and how to secretly remove it before crawling into bed with a prospective lover. I don't need this information but it sure was a funny conversation.

Val's girls, Evann and Carson, arrived home from their jobs and joined in. Leah was tied up with Avry all evening and Avry just wore her older cousin right out. Baby Sydney spent a good deal of the time sleeping in Carson's arms. I just love that the cousins in our family are so darned close. Anyway, Leah got so tired that she looked like death but Avry was wide awake and still wanting to play. When Adam and Yvonne left, I'm sure Avry fell asleep before the car left the block, though.

We finally all said our goodbyes, with lots of hugs, and Faye, Gary, and I headed home through the rainy night. I love my extended family!