Birthday Bash (West Coast Version)

On Sunday morning of our California visit everyone went their separate ways.  Hubby Tony and I walked to church.  Sons Brian and Donald joined us for part of the trip, then broke off so Donald could see the city's downtown area.  Daughter In Law Nicole went to the gym, came home to collect Brian, then they went to the grocery story.  Everyone rendezvoused back at the apartment for lunch, then we hung out and waited for the rest of the family to show up.

We'd found out a couple of weeks before our trip that Son Tony and his girlfriend (who both live in Phoenix) were visiting with her family not too far away from the San Francisco area.  When they heard that we were going to be there they rearranged their schedule to join us.  They arrived mid-afternoon, and the rest of the day was a whirlwind of cooking, eating, and catching up.
One of the amenities of Brian and Nicole's apartment complex are gas grills in the public areas.  Ninety minutes before it was time to eat, we walked down to the pool area to snag some tables, and Brian chose a nearby grill.  However, he soon found out that the steak, sausages, and vegetable skewers couldn't all fit on one, so he spread them out onto two and recruited more help.

Dueling barbecuers

When the food was ready we sat down to eat.  After dinner we sat around talking, then moved to the hot tub for more conversation.  As the sun went down we moved inside for our mega birthday celebration.

Summer is a busy time for celebrations in our family--between June 11 and July 2 there are three birthdays, and when you add in Father's Day it's just one big party.  When everyone was living at home they each got their own meal, dessert, and ceremony.  As the boys moved away after college we decided to roll everything into one big observance, but now with two of the three living a plane trip away, even that started being impossible.

I was really happy that we could all be together this year.  Nicole put candles on the cake, we sang Happy Birthday to all, then she served the cake and passed a tub of ice cream to go with it.  After dessert there was a flurry of present giving, opening, and thanking.

Five years ago today: This Is Why I'm Spending All My Time Inside...