Weekend in Ohio

My baby bro graduated from high school and had a big party last weekend. We weren't making any firm plans to go because I wasn't sure if Scott would be in the mood post-thesis, but he was so we packed up the car and drove the 10 hours. I hadn't told my parents that we were coming, so we opened their door at 11:30 p.m. and Bruce went in and jumped on their bed and gave them big hugs. One of my older bros, Dave, and his family came on Friday and we hung out. That night mom watched our kids while we went and bugged Ben, my baby bro, at work. He works as a host at a really eclectic restaurant. There are strange things - mostly meat - on the menu. There's even a 5-pound hamburger and if you eat it in an hour, you get your picture on the wall and only have to pay $15 instead of the full $30. Gross. I had a potato, applesauce, and salad, thank you very much. Scott got a giant burger - not quite 5 pounds though - as part of a weekend-long carnivorous spree before coming home to the veg life again.
My parents' house is like an amusement park. They have a pond with ducks in the front yard, a playground in the backyard, a brick oven, pavilion, patio with lounge chairs, hammock, bikes, battery-powered kid-sized Jeep, and tractor with trailer for kiddie rides. The picture above is Bruce happily playing on the playground.
For Ben's grad party, my parents put out a full spread of all kinds of food. They had a half-dozen picnic tables set up and, in the end, about 200 people showed up. Scott's sister and her family came, so Bruce had dozens and dozens of cousins to play with.
Here are some of the cousins. In the background is the beloved bounce house, which my parents set up for the party along with a volleyball court, and beanbag toss games.
Things always get a little crazy at my parents' place. Scott and I were pulling out to stop by a friend's wedding reception - that also happened to be this weekend - and Scott spotted another cousin climbing on top of a car. Just another day at the grandparents' resort.