It was a great weekend.

Friday, I spent a great deal of the day getting ready for (cleaning and shopping and setting up) a birthday party for VCB's daughter. (He still has both a Very Large, and a Medium Goat in his backyard, among other things, so my house became a better venue.) The party was fun, his family came and we had pizza, cake, and a silly string fight. There was a classic AFV moment when his younger daughter whacked her sister with the pinata stick, and we all watched it happen in slo-mo disbelief. Overall much merriment was had by all.

Saturday morning VCB and his Very Cute Girls came over for breakfast. There was a bacon cremation accident -the aroma of which will linger in my house forever, as it has proven impervious to all attempts at eradication- but otherwise all was good. (Five kids and two adults in a 1000 sq foot house is a lot of people, just in case you were wondering.)

The remainder of Saturday afternoon was spent in pursuit of Super Soakers for an epic water battle at VCB's sister's house with his entire family. Did you know that Super Soakers are not only expensive, they are really hard to find in August? I didn't. Until we took 5 kids to WalMart. And ToysRUs. On a Saturday. Which was, um, interesting. (Let's just say I really needed that awesome Daquiri that VCB's brother in law whipped up for me!)

The water battle was just hilarious, picture 15 adults and ten or so kids running around dousing each other with water guns, hoses and buckets, shrieking and laughing. It was really, really fun. Austin tossed a bucket of water over VCB's brother in law from the top of the playhouse, and kept us all entertained by going down the slide at 50mph and skidding across the yard. The kids had a blast too. In fact Julia's sleepy little voice at midnight piped up, "Today was FUN, Mom." Awww...gotta love it.

I have to say, VCB's family is one of my favorite things about him. It sure is easier when you LOVE the in-laws, and they love you back. One thing I know from experience-it's every bit as important to audition any potential inlaws as it is a potential partner. A bad set can wreck a good relationship and a good set can go a long ways towards keeping a shaky relationship on solid ground.

Sunday VCB and I helped his family move some furniture and took the kids out for dinner before Jackass picked mine up for the week. We exchanged a series of (knock wood) decent emails before the visitation so let's hope and pray this goes well.

My house, it is too quiet. Tomblike after the hustle and bustle of a busy weekend full of laughter and activity. I miss my babies already.