Monday, September 12, 2011

Here's to Good Times

Today is my Birthday.  YAay.... Okay, it's not that exciting once you start creeping up into the mid 4(cough)0's.  It actually kind of sneaks up on you, and at my age that is not always a good thing.

What is exciting though is getting to spend quality time with my family and friends - which I did a lot of yesterday.  It was a gorgeous sunny Seattle evening last night, and I was fortunate enough to be joined for a dinner party on our deck by the lovely Mrs. LIAYF, Lukas, and several of our closest friends. 

In addition to an abundance of good conversation and plenty of laughter we had grilled Coho salmon, corn on the cob, fresh baked bread, fresh picked blackberries, ice cold craft brewed ale, and a sinfully good chocolate cake with blackberry jam filling, made fresh with love that afternoon by my two favorite people in all the world.  I even got to lick the spatula.  It was what every birthday party should be.

Plus, earlier in the day Mrs. LIAYF surprised me with a very cool gift.  It was a Pearl Jam concert poster from a show we attended together way back in the mid 90's when we were dating.


Apparently we had intended to frame it but never did.  Not a big shock.  But then she found it in a dusty box in our garage the other day and thought it would be a great gift.  Which, of course, it is!

Last night when the sun had gone down, the kids broke out their flashlights and got to explore the backyard.  They were all having a good time until Lukas told them about the raccoons we had seen on our deck a few nights before.  Mrs. LIAYF had seen one actually washing it's paws in the cat's water dish.  To which my response was "At least he's being hygienic."

Once they heard about the raccoons most of the kids were a bit weary about leaving the deck.  Most, but certainly not Lukas. Typical of his personality, he immediately ran into the house and came out fully outfitted to do battle with a herd (what do you call a group of raccoons?) of the beasts.  He had a Lego headlamp, winter gloves, a toke, his soccer shin guards, elbow pads, and finally his cardboard shield.

"Let's go!" he told everyone.  Thankfully for the raccoons, no doubt hearing all the commotion I think they decided it would be best to steer clear of our backyard for the night.

We have a few more things on tap for tonight to celebrate, but yesterday will definitely be hard to top.

11 comments:

@AnOrdinaryDad said...

Hey, happy forty-ish birthday! I think I remember a previous post about how much you enjoyed the bouncy castles, you should have rented one and used Lukas as a cover story...but it sounds like you had enough fun without it!

Juli said...

happy birthday!

And yes, framing an old memory... the best gift of all. :)

SFD said...

Happy Birthday (holy crap you're old)!

And that's a pretty cool poster/gift. Nicely done, Mrs. LIAYF.

Anonymous said...

Licking the spatula is always the best. Have a great birthday.

Slamdunk said...

What a thoughtful gift.

Happy birthday dad.

Homemaker Man said...

happy Birthday Brutha! Cool gift and a cool family on special day. The best.

Gravy said...

Happy belated birthday. Although, in my household, birthdays are reason enough to drink beer all week!

Found you by way of Diplo Daddy's reading list. Just may make myself a regular here.

By the way, a group of racoons are called a gaze. Not as effective as herd, if you ask me. A little poetic justice for you there.

Mrs. LIAYF said...

I'm glad you liked your birthday! I'm sure the lightsaber and Rock'm Sock'm Robots you got yesterday really sealed the deal!

@Namzola - A gaze of Racoons? Is that because they wear little masks? :)

Rachael said...

Happy Birthday! I love special gifts like that, how cool.

Karl said...

Happy belated birthday!

James (SeattleDad) said...

@Lee - That would have been a great idea. Maybe next year. Thanks for the bday wishes.

@Julianna - Thanks! It is even cooler than the poor picture I took.

@SFD - Yes, I am getting O.L.D.

@PJ - Mmmm. Esp with homemade frosting.

@Slamdunk - Yeah, it was cool. Thanks.

@Homemakerman - Thanks man. Much appreciated.

@Namzola - A Gaze? Would never have guessed that one. Welcome and thanks for stopping to check things out. Love Dipplo's blog too.

@Mrs. LIAYF - The Rock'm Sock'ms were the best gift.

@Rachael - Thanks!

@Karl - Thanks for stopping by, and for the bday wishes Karl.