We went to Scott and Janet's tonight for the 4th. They had a clambake and the food was AWESOME.

They have a pretty much complete outdoor kitchen, with a great grill and burner set built into a stone counter, a
couple of fridges, and a perfect spot to sit with a long table under the awning.

And it was their daughter Cindy's turn to be completely plowed.

See, our first evening with that family was last Thanksgiving, when Janet, our Realtor at the time, invited us to dinner.

That night was Scott's turn. I remember watching him carve the turkey and thinking, wow, that guy's probably too drunk to remember tonight. So, he completely doesn't remember dropping the F-bomb during grace.

Then we went back for Christmas eve where we got an invitation to Scott and Janet's friend's house for the next day. I don't know why it seemed like a good idea to start drinking at noon on Christmas day, but by the time we were expected at Grant and Laura's, 6:00 pm, I was definitely in the spirit.

So then Super Bowl Sunday was Janet's turn, but we don't talk about that.

Today was Cindy's turn, but since she excels in the art of saying inappropriate things when sober, she was a bit of a disappointment. But I do think it's adorable that she and her husband and their kids are sleeping over at Scott and Janet's. They live about as far away as JJ and Steve do from our parents.

So the clambake was really clams, lobster claws, shrimp, crab legs, artichokes, corn, and potatoes all boiled in a spiced water and dumped onto newspaper on the table that we all sat around and shared bowls of melted butter, little forks, and shell crackers. It was so much fun.

The only artichokes I've ever had are the kind that come in a can, so it was fun to be taught how to eat a real fresh one. I also liked to take some clams and crab meat and let them soak in the butter, then scoop them out with an artichoke leaf and eat the artichoke meat off the leaf with the buttery seafood. So good.

What's amazing and delighting to me is to be welcome in this family that has absolutely nothing to gain from us but our company. I mean, before we bought our house, Janet was our Realtor, so we could kind of write it off as business, but now that we bought and everyone knows we aren't in any kind of market for 5-10 years, it's different. And the thing is, we really feel welcome, even by their kids.

You usually have to be sleeping with a blood relative to have a family accept you this closely.