Dad's Birthday

Yesterday we drove up to visit with my family to celebrate my father's birthday!

We hit the Arizona Bike Week kickoff party at Buddy Stubbs' Harley Davidson dealership to wander amongst the thousands of motorcycles and listen to a band my parents love and follow, RIG.  We walked up to the entrance and stood in a winding line, waiting to be checked and wanded and carded and finally admitted.  The guy checking purses asked to see inside my mom's and T's purses.  When T opened hers to show him, the thing on top was a shiny red Braeburn apple.  He was visibly surprised by this, and looked at her and commented, "My, that's very health-conscious of you!"

In response, she said, "I've got a little - " and patted her hand to her dress to show that she was packin' a baby belly.  The guy laughed and smiled and said, "Wow, I didn't even notice that!  You wear it so well."

Also, we kind of stuck out like sore thumbs in the line, because we didn't realize we were going to be attending a Bike Week party, so we weren't dressed for the part!  T was gorgeously cute and round in a beautiful blue and white sundress with a navy blue button up top and black flats, my mom wore jeans and a bright pink long-sleeved shirt, and I was wearing jeans cut off at my knees and flip flops.  My dad and brother didn't stick out so much, as they were both wearing jeans and black shirts and Dad wore black leather boots, but I'm certain we were an interesting group of five, haha.  Everyone else wore jeans and boots and leather vests with patches and doo rags or bandannas folded and tied around their foreheads.

There was a rather frightening woman who wore low-rise jeans, unbuttoned, and boots, and nothing else.  Her breasts had been painted with the Harley bar and shield (poorly, I might add) and swung about as she thrust her chest out and proudly displayed herself to anyone caught looking.  She was very sun-browned and starting to get that leathery wrinkle that some people collect so vigorously.

It was really a fascinating crowd, on the whole.  Women who, dressed differently, would be considered elderly, wore leathers and drank beer and stomped their feet to the music.  Little 3 and 4 year old boys wearing jeans and Harley tshirts darted through the crowd, clinging to their fathers or grandfathers' leather vests while chasing one another.  Biker parents with biker babies wheeled strollers around the dealership.  The dealership even had a section with a bunch of Harley Davidson baby and kids' clothing.  It was simply awesome.

I especially loved the part where we wandered the dealership, sitting on these brand new and shiny Harleys and pretending that one day, I'd have one of my own.  I don't believe I ever will have one anywhere but in the daydreams my mind provides, but I'm okay with that.

We also ate well while visiting my family!  Two great restaurants, two great meals.  We hung out at their house, talking about everything that needed discussion.  My mom got to feel the Cupcake moving around in T's belly!  She began to understand why I sometimes refer to T's belly as "The Lump".

Overall, I had a great Saturday visiting with my parents and my brother.  I miss them; I hope for the second half of T's pregnancy we get to see them much more frequently.