Do you guys know Amanda? I originally met her via the Color Me Happy Swaparooni group on Flickr. I have not really been a part of that group for a while, but one of the last swaps I participated in was the Christmas 2008 ornament swap, when I happened to be partnered up with Amanda. She’s also a 7 Days member, and blogs about life with her husband and two young sons, being a zumba instructor, living in a town where shuttle launches mess up traffic, and the glories of having a gorgeous swimming pool in her backyard. (I’m invited to go swim anytime I want. Don’t be jealous.)

A few weeks ago, Amanda mentioned on her blog and she and the kids were going to tag along on her husband’s work trip to DC and asked if anyone had recommendations for places to go. I immediately commented that they should come to our house for dinner, if they could squeeze us in. So that’s what they did!

We originally were supposed to get together on Thursday, but I remembered after making plans for lunch that I had spaced off a noon appointment on the same day, one that couldn’t be rescheduled. So we spent the weekend texting back and forth about possible plans. Amanda would text something like, “Just finished 13-mile walking tour of eight museums! Only three more museums to go before lunch!” and I’d text back something like, “We just unloaded the dishwasher. Do you guys like hot dogs?”

Okay, I’m exaggerating Amanda’s texts a little bit. But they really managed to pack a lot of sightseeing into one weekend! They definitely should have won some kind of tourist award for all the fun stuff they managed to do, and on Memorial Day weekend, no less! So I told myself it was probably a good thing that the Thursday plans fell through, because this way we could have them over for a nice, relaxing cookout on Sunday evening.

We grilled hot dogs and corn on the cob. We ate fruit salad and watermelon and chips and veggies and cookies. While the adults, including Troy and Amanda’s husband J, sat on the deck and talked, the kids alternated between running around the backyard and playing with Legos at the dining room table.

Eventually the sun set and the bugs came out, so we all went inside. Amanda helped me put food away while Annalie showed the basement playroom to the boys, and Troy showed the built-in bar to J. The kids played, the guys drank beers and chatted, Amanda and I hung out in the kitchen and laughed and talked. At some point we looked at the clock and realized it was almost 10pm and the kids were all beyond silly with tiredness. We were all having such a great time the evening just flew by. In other words, it was the best kind of internet meet-up we could have asked for.

Amanda and I remembered just before they left to take a quick photo of us together, because if we didn’t get a picture then it never really happened. I handed glow necklaces out to the kids, and we waved good-bye to them from the porch.

Thanks for making time in your vacation weekend for us, Amanda! It was great to meet you all at last. Come back anytime, and don’t be surprised if we show up to swim in your pool one day.

Don’t get me wrong. We like DC, and we’re happy to be close to our Maryland friends for a while, but still…I miss San Diego, and all our California friends, something fierce. *sigh*

Annalie was sitting at the table drawing while I was making dinner. She said to me, “Mom, say cheese!” I looked over and smiled at her for a second. She studied my face and then bent over her paper. I assumed she was drawing a picture of me. A minute later she asked me how to spell cheese. Then she came into the kitchen, a sly grin on her face, and presented me with this drawing. I totally cracked up.