Zach's 30th birthday was approaching and I asked Erika what she wanted to do for it this year. I told her she and Zach could host since they have the room and a yard now. She said she would think about it. As she thought about it, we discussed what kind of a birthday party we would have and she suggested a PJ Masks themed party. I told her I would check various stores for decorations. Meanwhile, I picked up a few presents for him as I saw them. Apparently, Zach is really hard to buy gifts for. I found stuff at Walmart and The Dollar Tree. They were PJ Mask and Baby Shark stuff. I did go to Harbor Freight so he would have his own pair of ear muffs. I could not find PJ Masks decorations so Erika had to order them online.
Erika finally got back to me and she said that she and Zach would be okay with hosting this birthday party and will make burgers and hot dogs on their new grill. I helped her break down the stuff that we would need and to assign people to bring it. We chose the Saturday before his birthday around 2 p.m.
I was to bring lettuce, beans, pickles and cheese along with tables and a few chairs. Mom and Dad were to bring tomatoes, onions and potato salad. She called me the morning of to ask if I had her mandolin so she could thinly slice the onions and tomatoes without cutting herself. She couldn't find the one she had at home so I looked. She also told me that while she was looking, she found my sliders maker I've been looking for over the past several months. I was excited. I did find her mandolin and I would have to bring it with me to Erika's house. Doug and Jenn were responsible for the buns and chips. Erika and Zach provided the burgers, hotdogs and the condiments.
The day of, Ben and I got everything packed up in the Escape and headed over. I wanted to go a little bit earlier but oh well. Erika started the burgers at 1:30 so they would be ready by the time people showed up at 2. We parked in the front yard, Ben unloaded the table and chairs to the back yard. I took the stuff into the kitchen and got the beans on the stove and washed the lettuce before the kitchen got super busy. Mom, Dad and Grandma arrived and Mom was also in the kitchen with me slicing the onions and tomatoes so it was a little crowded in the kitchen for a bit.
We brought everything out and set up the table with the food. We tried putting on the table cloths on the table and got them on eventually since it was super windy. The smoke from their fire blew at us constantly and by the time we got everything set up and the food on the table we all smelled like smoky food.
We all dished up and ate in various places in the yard. There was a table we set up away from the smoke and some sat on the porch where the others sat in camping chairs near the fire because they were cold. I had a hamburger, some chips, beans, potato salad and a couple pieces of watermelon. It was delicious. Everyone ate, chatted and hung out. If it weren't for the wind, the day would have been perfect.
When we were done eating, we closed up the bags of chips and the buns, took some of the dishes into the kitchen, cleaned up the table so we could bring out presents and the apple pie Zach wanted instead of a birthday cake. We sang happy birthday to Zach, we ate pie and whipped cream while he opened his birthday presents. Again, Zach is hard to find gifts for so I stuck to the Baby Shark and PJ Masks theme. I found some Baby Shark macaroni, a Baby Shark kite, PJ Masks cups etc. He opened up everyone else's and then he and Erika proceeded to play with the kite. Then Erika went and got the rest of the kites out of the house.
We hung out for a little while longer until it was ready to pack up and go. You could tell everyone was getting cold and wanted to go soon. We helped Erika bring in the stuff from outside, we helped her wash the dishes, we gathered up the stuff we came with and Ben and Doug put the table and chairs back in the Escape. We thanked Erika and Zach for hosting and we all went home. In the midst of the chaos in the house with packing up stuff and cleaning, I had forgotten my back pack on the living room floor and had to come back to get it. I was hoping they were home when I came by so I texted her and she didn't get back to me until I was knocking on their door. She wondered why I was there and I told her I left my back pack on the floor. I grabbed it and we talked for a few (minutes and then she went back to working on her thesis.
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