Prepping for company!

I am thrilled to be busy these last few nights cleaning & cooking - the necessary prepping before my family comes to visit!! I am very excited to have my grandparents, parents, aunt and brother at my house for Labor Day weekend. I have been washing sheets in my guest bedrooms and setting up an air mattress in my office - and couldn't be happier to have a house full!

As I grow older, I find that I am more and more like my grandmother - and I really covet the time I get to spend with her in particular. I hate that I don't like closer so that I can spend time with her on a regular basis. We both LOVE to cook, decorate, entertain and just have a great time with friends and family. My mom and aunts say that it skipped a generation... although all but one (poor Syndy is a self acclaimed terrible cook) are quite good in the kitchen!

My brother is also coming up from Camp Lejeune, NC. He re-joined the Marines after 3 years of civilian life. He is a completely different person now that he is back in. He is just a marine through and through. He now has purpose and perhaps more importantly, an identity. It will be good to see him as well! He is bringing with him a marine friend that was wounded in Iraq. I'm very happy to have him - but am a bit nervous about how comfortable he will be at my house with lots of stairs and people. I'm not exactly sure how well he is able to get around... but am hoping that Tony would not put him in an awkward situation as he knows my house and his friend's capabilities.

The other interesting thing about this weekend is that my brother is picking up my car. I have transferred the lease to him so that Jeff can get a new car. He hated mine because it was a manual transmission and he is not great at driving it. He hasn't picked out anything yet - so, I am a bit nervous about how long we are going to be down to one car! Not that it is a huge deal... we carpool downtown together and tend to do pretty much everything together. I just feel like sharing a car will be losing a bit of my freedom. Crazy huh? But, I do enjoy car shopping - so, it will be fun to go find something new!

The other fun thing about Labor Day in Cincinnati are the WEBN fireworks (http://webn.com/pages/FWX.html)! They are fantastic - and now I get to share them with my family who has never been down for them!