party time!!

I wasn't too surprised when J informed me about a week ago that he had planning a birthday party for today. He knew this was a big birthday for me and I really wanted to enjoy it with my friends. Not an easy thing when my special day lands in the midst of holiday travel season.

Nonetheless, with the help of Lisa and Oil (men do really need women's help to pull these things off, don't they?), J put on a lovely party at the only free venue we have available to accommodate 18 adults and 12 kids -- the church fellowship hall. It started snowing in the morning so there were a couple of families that couldn't make it, but there was still a good turnout.














Singing Happy Birthday to me:














J had sandwiches catered from a business associate he knows which were quite good. For dessert, he surely didn't disappoint -- Finale Desserterie's Dark Chocolate Decadence -- maximum chocolate extravagance of dense, fudgy, flourless, truffle-like cake with a hint of coffee. Possibly the only dessert to top the Godiva Cheesecake I had last Tuesday:














Enjoying my just desserts














The kids enjoyed Oil's cupcakes at their table:














We found some classroom toys to keep the kids occupied or at least give them something to engage in minor conflict over. Riley kept trying to sit on the Sit-N-Spin while other kids were on it. He hasn't figured out how to give them personal space yet. Here he is enjoying the trains:














Thanks to my wonderful hubby Jonathan & the Crounse, Zivan, Sawyer, Davis, McFadden, Holley, Huffman & Klauder families for braving the snowy roads to come out and celebrate with me. It's was a fine end to my first 40 years!

Shelby