Sniff, GULP.

Cleaning the entire house after the movers left was only slightly more painful than packing it. Before Oliver's party on Saturday, we tried to get some of the cleaning done, but we had sent our vacuum to Dallas and had to wait to borrow Seth and Joy's before any of the floors could be done. So we basically just cleaned the kitchen and bathrooms, made piles of stuff that would have to fit into the car and moved those piles from room to room as we cleaned, and made up excuses why the really heinous tasks would have to wait until "later" to be done.

Again, Alex tried to help, but his method of removing everything from a box or bag at the precise moment that I finish filling said box or bag is not the most efficient strategy. Love ya, buddy, but your cleaning skills leave something to be desired.

Also on our "to do" list - to have a final meal at some of our favorite Fayetteville haunts. Of course, Rick's Bakery was on the list, so we had us a few donuts and some Rick's House Blend - you know, a healthy breakfast to fuel up for the busy day ahead.


A went down for his morning nap when we got back and woke up in time to be fashionably late to Oliver's party. Oh well, at least he was fashionable. Before we left, I asked him whether he was excited to go to the party and see everyone. This was his response:

Call me crazy, but I'd say that's a "yes".

Oliver's party was a smash and there were tons of fun people there, although A missed sharing the fun with his G-parents. Fortunately, Oliver was generous enough to lend Alex his, and Papa and M'laine made excellent substitutes. (P.S. Don't judge his demeanor by his face in the last pic - that mean-muggin' look is just a new "thing" he's been trying out lately.)

See, here it is again. This time, his scowl is followed by some cuddle time with Kara.

Awww, don't they look like a happy little family?

Sometime between all the eating and playing and scowling, Oliver opened his gifts. We got him some basketball jerseys and had "Primm" heat-pressed onto the back, along with Seth's high school basketball number. It was one of those "Seth and Joy will appreciate it more than Oliver will" kind of gift, so we also got him a kite and an Elmo balloon, which seemed to make up for the fact that we got him, uggghh, clothes.

Most of the guests left, but Oliver's cousins and aunts and uncles stuck around for a bit. As you can see, Alex had no problem mixing it up with his extended Primm family.

After most of the family left, A sat with his Daddy and Papa Primm on the swing for a bit. I'm not sure that he was aware that he was swinging, or that anyone else was around, because he was completely preoccupied with this little Nerf ball.

We reluctantly headed home...eventually, which was really awful and miserable and sad because we knew it was one of the last times we'd get to hang out with the Primms before we left for Dallas. We did plan to meet them at the crack of dawn for breakfast the next morning to say our final farewells, so that thought kind of kept our spirits up Saturday night. Our spirits were further lifted by a final meal of burritos and huevos rancheros at La Huerta.

Btw, notice the difference between a picture of Alex and his dad...

...and pictures of Alex and his mom...

Finally, he sat still long enough to get a decent one, although neither of our smiles are very convincing.

Speaking of unconvincing smiles, it was kind of an awful and miserable and sad week in general in the sense that the reality of leaving all of our friends was starting to set in. Earlier in the week, Timothy had his "last supper" with his friends from school at Hugo's, then the following day, I had my "last supper" with my work friends...at Hugo's.

So when Sunday morning arrived and it was time for our dreaded last breakfast with the Primms, I was kind of anticipating a breakdown of sorts, at the very least expecting to shed a few tears into my coffee. Somehow I managed to hold it together, even when Oliver gave me a huge, long hug and a sloppy, sincere kiss goodbye. I got a little watery, but it wasn't quite the event that I was afraid it would be. Of course, I had broken down a little the night before, so that may have helped me get it out of my system. Even Joy, with her preggo hormones a-ragin', maintained her composure. I was so proud of us!

I did kind of convince myself that we were not saying "goodbyes", but rather, "see you laters", like we would surely be seeing them the next weekend at the latest, as usual, and that we weren't driving hundreds of miles away, permanently, only to see them at some unscheduled point in the future. There's a good chance that I'm just delaying an inevitable breakdown, and maybe I will need therapy like those people that never mourn a loved one and have serious emotional problems because of it. But for now, I'm okay living in denial of the "loss" of our best friends, cause really they're not lost, they're just a little farther away. BFF! We miss you guys already!