Wednesday, April 19, 2006

It's a nice place to visit...

The SU and I have returned from the land of our childhoods and it was a pleasant visit. We stayed with the SU's sister and her husband hereby referred to as Mr and Mrs Oz. They have 3 kids, all of whom are under the age of six. We brought our 2 large dogs. Chaos ensued.

Mr and Mrs Oz have exactly 3 more children than we want. It's nice to see them and watch them grow (the kids I mean) but a 4 day visit with them only serves to solidify our desire to not reproduce. Bringing the dogs also solidifies the Oz parents' resolve to tell the kids they can't have a puppy.

Mr Oz lost about 50 lbs since the last time we saw him. Ho-ly crap. He looks like a different person. He looks so much like he did when he was in high school, so much younger. We're all really proud of him.

I got to see my little brother J-Man. I love him. He cracks me up. I also got to see my mom for a few minutes and stopped by the "Home for the Aged" where my grandma lives. We call her Busia (pronounced BOO-sha) which is supposed to be Polish for grandma. I've never looked into it. Even if it means "monkey-stroker" she'll always be Busia to me and my family. She's approaching 90 and is the sweetest lady in the universe. I haven't met every lady in the universe but I'm comfortable putting her up against anybody. Bring it.

We played a lot of games and taught the Oz's Tichu. Mr Oz loved it (I think) but Mrs Oz was underwhelmed, at least at first. The SU and I thought it would be a big hit. It does take a few playings to get the feel for it though. We also played Ticket to Ride: Europe as a 4 player and 5 player game. Since there were often 6 (or more) people we played some Chip Whore & Liar's Dice. We even snuck in a 4 player game of Modern Art although it was late at night and I bungled a couple of the rules. I had only played once before and it was back around Jesus's b-day. We still had fun but it would've been better if played correctly. It was a mostly relaxing few days.

The main reason we went home was to celebrate Mrs Oz's christening into the Catholic church. "Celebrate" puts a little more joy into a christening than I generally have for religious ceremonies (heck, more than I have for religion in general) but Mrs Oz is happy and that's all I care about. She treats me like a loved part of her family and I try to do the same for her. We have differing opinions on the god thing but she's one of my favorite people and I always look forward to seeing her.

It was Buffalo so, needless to say, the food was great. Wings, pizza, Mr Oz's homemade smoked Polish sausage, Anderson's beef on weck and frozen custard... I have no idea how Mr Oz managed to lose 50 lbs but I can cerainly understand the ability to put it on.

Until next time, thanks to everyone. We miss you all.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

so many comments, so little time...

Zoe said...

That comment was mine, I'm not sure WTF is with blogger, but it wouldn't let me be somebody.

Phollower said...

And so your life goes.

Phollower said...

Don't worry, I've never been anybody either. Although bringing up similarities with me may not be all that encouraging.

lkmanitou said...

Yes, but the burning question is, did you bring back any of those yummy hot dogs from Buffalo??

MrsOz said...

We loved having you Phollower. Well, Mr Oz loved "having you" and I loved having you as a guest in our home.

And by the way, I treat you like family, because you ARE family and we ALL love you. You're also one of our favorite people, and not because you bring your own "cum towel". It's for lots of other reasons.

Like, when I'm cooking you breakfast, you come over and put your arm around me, thank me, and bend over to kiss the top of my head. That's sweet. And funny. I'm sooo short, huh?

Maybe by the time you all come out again, Nicole will be done crying because she misses you so much. It's sad that she does that, but I feel the same way, but since I'm five, I don't cry.

Can't wait til next time,
Mrs Oz

Phollower said...

LK- Of course we brought Sahlen's back with us. With the skin, naturally, so they make that pop when you bite them. God I love those things.
MrsOz- Thanks for being the great host you always are. It's always touching that the fridge is so full of food when we visit that it's hard to close the door. I always do my best to help with that. Tell Nicole that Wuja misses her too. But since I'm not five I don't cry either. And I'm not a big girly poopy-head.

Elle said...

Two things.

1. I used to call my Polish great grandmother "Baba". Does that have anything to do with grandmother, or is it just that I was a mute little kid and I could only get two repetitive syllables out?

2. Tuesday I told someone I hate kids (and yes, 3 children is about 12 more than I could ever handle), but today I told someone else that I want a baby so I can nurture it when I feel like I am useless. Of course, I'm not sure what happens when I feel like I am useful, but I'm sure it has something to do with DYFS.

Phollower said...

I have discovered that nuturing a child is definitely not the thing for feeling useful. For me at least. Mr and Mrs Oz are great at it. Oddly enough, they have the kids. Sometimes life works out like that.

MrsOz said...

OMG It's so funny that you said that because when I read elle's post a few days ago, I was going to respond "coming from someone with three kids, they make you feel anything BUT useful".

THAT IS SO FUNNY!

Thanks Phollower!