Ooh, Growin' Up

Rex always says that the best age for kids is from 5 to 12, when they're old enough to let you relax with some grown-up time on your own, but not yet teenagers who think they know it all and that you know nothing.

Tonight proved that to me. Rex's mom (Grammy) and Rex's old high school girlfriend, Judy, came over for the afternoon through dinner. Rex gave his old flame a tour of the Roxiticus Valley, then served a delicious dinner of Bacon-Wrapped Maple Pork Loin, Yukon Gold Potatoes, and Men's Favorite Salad. I forgot to take a picture of the meal to post here, but my loyal Roxiticus Desperate Housewives should know that it was another Michelin one-star meal. If you're lucky, I'll get my Rex's Recipes blog up and running and post the recipes there for all of you to enjoy.

Here's how I know my girls are growin' up....we grown-ups were actually able to enjoy after-dinner conversation in our living room, surrounded by our own modern furniture in the elegance Esther (the prior owner of Tranquility) left here in the form of polished wide-board cherry wood floors, window treatments, tasteful paint and crown moldings. The girls played the piano and showed off their ballet and Irish step dancing moves, but basically left us to our adult conversation while they played quietly in the family room.

Huge bonus: the girls came in to the living room regularly to update us on the basketball scores....we're still shocked that Memphis beat UCLA, 78-63 and that Kansas is 20+ points ahead of my beloved TarHeels.