Barbecue

Breaking from tradition, I did not spend the last holiday with the Larsens.  Instead, they spent it with me.

Usually, I head south and hang out with Ian and his family in or near their home.  But since I had already volunteered to help cook at a barbecue that my ward was hosting, I invited them to come north and join me.  Ian accepted and brought the kids, though Amanda had another obligation.

I arrived at the park where the event was held a few minutes before the Larsens.  I was helping to set things up a little, but mostly I was milling about.  When the kids got out of the car, they shouted their customary greet to me: "Uncle Jordan!" but I didn't hear them, I think because they were too far away.  When they got within earshot, they were distracted by the siren call of the playground equipment and forgot about me.  Ian came up to announce their arrival and I walked over for a proper "hello" with the kids.

I introduced Ian to about a dozen people, all members of my ward.  Everyone was very friendly, some simply saying "hi" and others actually starting conversations with him.  The one comment that we got more than any other?  We don't look like brothers.  This is nothing new for us, but was funny to have so many people tell us the same thing in such a short time period.

The barbecue was fun, but it was wet.  Everyone was sweating profusely, not because it was so hot, but because the humidity was close to 100%.  Henry complained to his dad a few times that he didn't like sweating so much.  And while we Larsens had wet hair and faces, we were handling it better than some people.  I saw a few people with their shirts soaked so thoroughly that I thought that someone had poured water on them.  Even the dessert that I brought suffered: I brought a couple of S'more pies, but since they're custard-based, they melt pretty thoroughly.  Despite that, by the time the event ended, only one slice (well, pile by that point) had not been eaten.

After a couple of hours in the heat, Ian gathered up the kids to head home. Clara and Henry were still having fun, playing with some of the primary-aged children that were there, but they were also happy to leave.  After our good-byes, I took my turn cooking hamburgers, but that turned out to be "watch the grills while we take a break."  So, I hung out close to the two charcoal grills and talked with some friends.  Later on when the clean-up started, I helped out with that and even stayed behind to watch some of the equipment since it couldn't be taken in one trip.

All told, it was a hot and humid experience, but one that was fun.