I promised updates, sorry was kind of a hectic week.  Turns out we don't get ANY signal what-so-ever at the cabin so I was unable to blog.

Day 1 Tuesday 7/3;

Cousin wisely did not respond to DH request to visit for the fourth.  We did end up loading up the truck/camper and going to Dh friend BBQ.  Surprisingly, I had a good time.  There were two other kids there, one was SS age.  They played a little bit but SS got "too hot" and proceeded to sit on a camping chair in front of the camper and sulk.  This caused Dh (who was assisting with the BBQ) to go into a panic.  The kids kept repeatedly going up to SS and asking him to play.  There were bean bags, soccer goals, water guns, ball toss.  The backyard was HUGE, plenty of space for all, and canopy set up every few feet for shade.  SS refused to play.  He had brought a board game but the other kids didn't want to play inside the camper(not any cooler temp-wise inside btw), they wanted to do the provided activities OUTSIDE.  Frustrating, oh well.  I made friends with the host's significant other and we talked most of the night while DH tried to enjoy himself through the guilt.  SS had two shirts on.  DH told him to take one off, SS refused.  DH sprayed his head with the hose, then SS sat and sulked because his shirt got wet.  We barely got any sleep and managed to wake up early enough to take the camper down before the rain.  I'm talking within seconds of the last clip being "snapped", it started pouring.  If SS attitude is any indication of how he is going to be this week, the cabin is going to be trouble.

Day 2 Wed 7/4:

Everyone was still exhausted from the night before.  We watched the 'macy's 4th of July' special on TV.  I spent most of the day reading while DH watched a movie with SS and played video games.  Later that evening we went to Dairy Queen and found a cool spot nearby our house that allowed us to watch four different sets of fireworks throughout the city.  Boring day but nice that there was no standard visitation day panic. SS complains about bug bites, DH puts calamine lotion on him.

Day 3 Thurs 7/5:

        Received an unexpected invite from DH grandmother to come to her apartment around 6 p.m. due to some out of state relatives coming to town.  Did she mention we should bring a dish to share? Dh goes into a panic (see a pattern here?) and makes one of the side-dishes meant for the cabin.  Oh well, not my problem. SS starts complaining that lotion did not work for bug bites so DH goes online for solution.  Sees something about Vicks Vapor Rub.  SS asks for some but DH says he has to buy it.

   We head to a nearby beach to kill time.  A wave went over SS head as he was trying to swim in the deep area and it turns into a soap opera with all the crying and daddy guilt, etc.  I understand as a kid it's scary, but this went on for over an hour.  We don’t live by an ocean, it was a friggin lake.  And Dh telling everyone “over his head” is an exaggeration, wave was like 3 inches high.  Drama King.  Leave the beach and head to DH grandmother's apartment. SS asks for Vicks but we are running late so DH doesn’t stop. 

     It is awkward.  Not much is said, and the relatives that came into town didn't seem to "chatty" or even care that we were there.  The apartment is small, but DH grandma is thrilled to have everyone there.  SS forgets an uncle's name, everyone smiles and laughs as they tell him its okay because SS was only a baby when he met him.  For some reason, the laughter instantly makes SS angry and he runs out the door.  Dh thought he was joking around and wasn't concerned until five minutes went by and SS doesn't return.

    This leads to a two-hour long search for SS who is now hiding somewhere in this massive 6 level open floor apartment complex.  None of the staff at the complex are working for the weekend so we can't do an intercom page.  There are elevators, many stairs/stairwells, a parking garage, garden area.....oh and did I mention if SS went outside he would have no way to get back in because he doesn't know how to use the intercom and you need a badge to access inside?  As MIL and I search, she confides her concern for SS.  She claims BM will not teach SS his home address or phone number, and almost being 11 MIL feels he should know these things.  I say nothing because it's not my place, she needs to talk to DH. 

    It is an elderly apartment, we had to stop six concerned tenants from pushing the life-alert devices in an effort to get police involved.  Much drama and panic, 10 people searching.  DH finds SS hiding under a stairwell deliberately ignoring the calls to come out.  I'm not sure what was said, but DH is not happy. 

  MIL proceeds to tell me more than I care to know about my DH when he was going through adolescence, and what to expect with SS.  DH gets upset when grandmother tried to tell him the get-together is for his birthday when it clearly wasn't.  SS is now asking for Vicks every 15 minutes even though we aren’t leaving yet.  Oh and MIL needed a ride last-minute.  Just happy she didn't invite herself over again.  We get the damn Vicks before dropping off MIL and head home.  Rest of the night uneventful other than SS applying Vicks every 5 minutes. 

5 days to go...and we still have the cabin to look forward to...Part 2 to follow