A Year (off) In the Life: Birthday Cookout

On Sunday we continued the celebration of Gary’s birthday with a cookout. Everyone was expected around 1 - 1:30. About noon, while sipping a diet coke on the porch I was struck by a shocking thought - we were totally ready and actually waiting for people to get here! Thanks to a remarkable team effort getting the house ready to have people over - both inside and outside, upstairs and downstairs - this was the most relaxed party we‘ve ever had!

We got a humongous rib of beef and cut it into about 20 steaks, 2 whole chickens for BBQing, made cole slaw, corn on the cobb and a plum tart. We were overwhelmed by everyone else’s unexpected and delightful contributions to make this a full-on feast! I was determined to get a group photo of everyone - to post here but also to try out my new tripod. Suffice to say that I need to work focusing the shots and the impact of too much light when using a tripod - but if you know the folks in the picture, you can make them out.

Left to right front: Dan & Rebecca’s kids Zach & Lauren, Lauren’s boyfriend Alex, Zeek and our Alex. Next row: Me, Gary’s Mom Joyce, cousin Donnie, Gary, Dan’s wife Rebecca, Donnie’s wife Holly & baby girl Camryn, Gary’s brother Theron & baby girl Maitlan, Gary’s nephew Phillip, Theron’s significant other Christina, Martin’s wife Lori with newborn baby boy Noah, Lydia’s boyfriend Jonathan and Lydia. Top row: Gary’s old friends Dan and Martin holding son Jacob - towering above us all standing on the hearth.

We ate very well and fun was had by all. The 4-wheeler trails were put to good use by the teenagers and teenagers at heart. It was also baby-central with 3 babies and a toddler who were all outstanding party guests!