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.
Great post, Elizabeth, about the grill night. So many of us are enjoying your blog.
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