Happy Birthday, Dad!

My dad's birthday is not until next Thursday, but we thought we'd celebrate this weekend since he and Cathy will be on vacation the following weekend. Cathy put together a really nice party: a bbq with family and friends. Oh, and a little bit of karaoke.

I made the birthday cake. My dad wanted yellow cake with chocolate frosting (my favorite!). I decided to try and make it from scratch. You know, in all my spare time. ;) It turned out pretty well . . .

Yellow cake batter.

The finished product: three-layer yellow cake with milk chocolate frosting.


We headed out to Camarillo after going to the travel clinic to get shots, health insurance, and a prescription for antibiotics for our trip to China. The antibiotics prescription may sound weird, but I have decided it's a good precaution after suffering through the nasty sickness that knocked us out halfway through the honeymoon. If you haven't heard that story, suffice to say it is both comedy and tragedy.

We arrived in Cam around 4:00 p.m. with birthday cake and birthday hats in tow.

The birthday boy!

Bug and our wire fox terrier, Woody. He's such a grumpy old man, but he'll still cuddle sometimes.


Bug and Ajax. This pic is a bit awkward, no? Haha.

Speaking of awkward . . . My husband is a spaz. :)

Self-photo! I am never in these party pics since I am always the one taking the pictures (go figure).

Bug and Dad.

Dad was trying to convince me to reverse the number candles so that it said he is 35. Nice try.

Yes, 53. There we go, dad...

Dad and his girlfriend Cathy. She's the best.

The birthday cake . . .

Ajax and Ella crashed on the couch . . .

It was a good birthday, I think. Josh and Bug spent most of the day in the pool. In fact, when we decided to call it a night around 11 p.m., Josh was still in the pool!

I crashed as soon as we got home, around midnight. I probably could have slept all through today, but Josh finally woke me up a little before 1 p.m. I haven't slept that late in awhile, and it felt amazing!

Not sure what the plans are for today. Josh mentioned seeing Indiana Jones, which I think sounds like a fabulous idea. The grey weather here (which I adore!) makes me was to just poke around town and be lazy today.

Birthday recap.

We started out the evening at Dave and Busters. Initially, Josh had wanted to go mini golfing, but when he heard that you couldn't bring beer into Golf 'N' Stuff, it was immediately ruled out. I had never been to Dave and Busters, but a lot of people describe it as a Chuck E. Cheese's for adults. I think that's probably pretty accurate. For you Seattleites, Josh said it reminded him a lot of Gameworks.

We got there and ordered drinks and dinner. I had low expectations for the food, but my sliders weren't half bad! Bug got a hold of the camera and took pictures around the table:

Pj and Dad are on the left and Trevor and Sarah are on the right. Sarah went to high school with Josh, PJ, and me in Alaska. She and Trevor just recently moved to L.A. and have the cutest one-year-old! I'm so happy they were able to make it out with us!

Ajax, Jackie, and PJ on the left and my grandparents on the right (seriously, how cute are they).

And, of course, the birthday boy (pic courtesy of Bug)!

A close-up of the red velvet cake I made:

After we finished eating, it was time for . . . games!!!

Josh.

Jackie and PJ.

Dad landing a plane.

Grandma and Grandpa.

Bug.

After leaving Dave and Busters, we went to a dive bar by our house because Josh wanted to catch his friend's band, The Screaming Clams. They're basically a cover band that sings songs from the '60s and '70s. My dad was rocking out.

The night ended back at our place where we had some wine and did a little swimming! I think Josh had a great time, and I know I did! Thanks to the fam and crew for helping celebrate Josh's big 2-8!

Happy Birthday, Josh!

Last night, we kicked off celebrating Josh's birthday by going to see The Kids in the Hall at the Orpheum downtown. The Kids in the Hall are a Canadian comedy troupe (with, in my opinion, Monty Python-esque humor) that had a cult following in the early 90s. If you haven't heard of them, you may know one of their members, Dave Foley, who used to be in Newsradio. (Josh's favorite, classic KITH sketch, if you're interested, is "I Lost My Indian Drum." I didn't really laugh the first time I saw it, but hearing Josh reenact it is pretty funny.)

The Orpheum is so pretty! Kind of Art Deco mixed with a Phantom of the Opera vibe. Here is a pic I snagged from their website:

The show was funny. Josh said it best. It's funny at the time, but it gets funnier the more you think about it after-the-fact. The most noteworthy part of the show, however, was the audience. Everyone in the crowd was about our age, or maybe 3-5 years older. And man, we are all old. Most were sporting the same sort of hipster gear from high school: tattoos, funky glasses, blazers, spiked colored hair. But, it was weird seeing it on all these grown adults. I sat in my seat, looked around the theater, and couldn't help but feel that I was sitting in a high school assembly, only ten to fifteen years had passed. It was pretty surreal.

This morning, I woke up early(ish) and made the birthday boy breakfast. I was most proud of the lemon currant scones baked this morning by yours truly. They turned out really well! Crumbly and crunchy with a bit of lemon zest.

After breakfast was finished, Josh curled up on the couch to veg (or, more accurately sleep) in front of the TV while I made the birthday cake.

Josh had requested red velvet cake. I found a recipe and baked the cake part late last night. Please note that this is the first time, I think, that I have baked a cake entirely from scratch.

The batter turned out nice and, er, red (which I think is a good sign). :)

I didn't burn the three layers. Another good sign.


This morning, it was time for the cream cheese frosting. I was especially proud of it. It was so light and fluffy, but still tasted rich and delicious. I took a pic halfway through the frosting process . . .

Yum! I can't wait to slice into it!

We are headed out to start celebrating the birthday in a few hours. I am going to try and sneak a nap in before that . . . I'll be sure to bring the camera, and I am going to try and stay away from the Irish car bombs this time.