We were not able to have Dad's birthday around his actual birthdate this year because Grandpa needed to have surgery and that was scheduled around that time. Grandpa's surgery was more important to us at the time than Dad's birthday...we could have that at anytime. However, I had some time off on his actual birthday so I had him meet me in Tumwater and I bought him a blizzard of his choice.
A few days after Grandpa's surgery he was put into a rehab place just to make sure he recovered smoothly. There is where he stayed for a while. I asked Dad if he wanted to have everyone at my house for a birthday party and he said sure. I asked him what he wanted for food and he said ham and mashed potatoes. I told him I could totally make that happen. I asked him if it mattered what kind of cupcakes he wanted and he said whatever you have was fine. We picked a day and I called everyone to let them know when we were going to have it, where and what we were going to eat. I asked if people could contribute for the ham it would be much appreciated since hams to feed that many people aren't exactly cheap.
I went shopping that Friday before and picked up the ham from Safeway and the rest of the stuff like the potatoes, rolls, salad, gravy etc., from Walmart along with my normal shopping. I had most of the decorations from parties before but I went to the Dollar Store to get a few more things to kind of round out the decorations part of it.
I made the cupcakes the night before and I had a box of rainbow chip cupcake mix and some frosting so that's what everyone got.
The day of, I spent a lot of time cleaning the house, making sure the guest bathroom was clean and I moved all the tables into the dining room and put them in a square shape so everyone can fit around the table. We have too many people to fit comfortably around the normal dining room table. Ben was on a 24-hour shift at the station so I didn't have the extra hands to get stuff done. I got the decorations up. I watched the Seahawks barely beat the Miami Dolphins that morning. If they played like this the entire season it was going to be a long stressful season.
That morning, I got the ham into the oven to cook for its appropriate amount of time, got the potatoes smashed and the other stuff taken care of. I got the dishes out, the silverware, the cork hot pads for the table and now all we had to do was wait until everyone got here. People were a little late-ish but that was okay. It gave me time to get the rolls done.
Dinner was delicious, Dad enjoyed his birthday party, his gifts were fun and it was nice to have a family dinner.
Everyone went home just before 4 and I spent the next few hours doing dishes, putting the tables back, sweeping the floor and putting food away. This year has been really different on how we spend our holidays and birthday parties. I feel like everything has been at my house, which it has, but when restaurants are closed and have specific rules on how many people you can have in your party, makes it difficult to go out as a family. I really can't wait until we go back to how life was. I miss it so much.
Happy Birthday Dad!
Next Adventure: A Quick Caching Jaunt to Deschutes Falls Park - International Earthcache Day
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