Summer Nights

Me, Nate and Cristina hanging by the grill

Nate being crazy for the picture :)

Tanner showing Cristina the cake he and I made for her

All of us hanging out on the back porch

Nate, Cristina, me, and Tony

The birthday party for Cristina last night was the best! Right after lunch Tanner and I went over to dorm thirteen, which is one of the manager’s dorms. Brian lives in there, and he said we can use the kitchen that they have since we know him. Tanner had asked me about a week ago to find out Cristina’s favorite type of cake without having her suspect anything, which I found out was red velvet. After I told Tanner that he got supplies to make a red velvet cake and we went to dorm thirteen and made it yesterday after lunch. I didn’t put that in yesterday’s blog post since in case Cristina read it, since it was supposed to be a surprise. After getting the batter ready to go in the oven, we headed into Jackson, planning to finish it when we got back. Hanging out with Tanner both in town and in the car on the way there and back was a lot of fun. We got steaks, corn on the cob, red peppers, potatoes, chips, and more to have for the party. When we got back we learned that Ken and Brian were bringing some food to have as well; our back picnic table was covered with food!

            Cristina and Nate were finished with work by the time we got back, and they came out to the back porch to get the grill and food ready. It was an absolutely beautiful day yesterday; in the low seventies, sunny, and breezy. While we were waiting for everyone else, we relaxed in the shade of the pine trees and enjoyed the gorgeous weather.

            Once the grill had heated up and other people started arriving, we put the corn on, as well as some asparagus that Ken had brought. Louise and her husband soon showed up, as well as Brian. Tony, a friend of ours who lives in our building, came out to join us as well. Jesse thankfully got off work in time to hang with us too, and brought some cookies for dessert. When the corn was done we put on some steaks, as well as some of the sausages that Brian brought; we had an absolute feast! It was definitely much better than any meal we’d had in the EDR.

            After we’d eaten a lot of the food we’d grilled, Tanner went to get the cake, which he’d gone off for a while to bake and put icing on. I distracted Cristina while Tanner brought the cake out of his room and around the corner, and we all sang happy birthday as he walked over with it. Cristina was surprised and the cake was awesome; I think the fact that Tanner had made it himself (with a little help from me) had made it even more special to Cristina.

            A little later Emily, our supervisor, and Zach, another bellman, showed up to wish Cristina happy birthday, have some cake, and share the fun with us. As evening turned to night we stood near the grill and tiki torches to keep warm. We’d all been out on the back porch for several hours by the time it started getting dark, which was when some people started leaving. Nate, Tanner, Cristina and I all sat out there pretty late into the night though, after we’d cleaned everything up, to just talk and be together. It was one of the best nights I’d had since arriving here.

            Today Nate, Cristina and I all go into work at three. I’m not sure how many check-ins we’re expecting today, but I’m not worried about it. I just got back from having lunch in the EDR with Cristina, Nate and Tanner. They’re definitely a very fun group to hang out with and be around.