Happy birthday!

Well, yesterday was my birthday (the seventh anniversary of my 21st birthday, I like to say).

I'm getting old and crotchety, but I still had a fun little party with my family. Some high notes:

*My dad grilled some tri-tip and chicken, and my mom made my favorite chocolate cake. To be perfectly honest, it's Ina Garten's recipe, and it's pretty good. However, I'm all about the frosting, and the recipe my mom uses is amazing. I unashamedly love it, and I look forward to it every year.

*We drank some good beer and cheap wine. My in-laws brought over a bottle of wine and my mom broke out her cheap Gallo to supplement, while my dad supplied Pacifico and the champagne of beers, Miller High Life. We brought some Shock Top Honeycrisp Apple Wheat, and I'm proud to say that I've found the first beer I truly enjoy drinking (not just a means to get drunk, haha).

*My brother and sister-in-law took S down to the pond to try their luck at fishing. A few nibbles, no bites, but the pictures they took are very sweet and S really enjoyed it. He liked it so much that when he was asked what he wants to do when he grows up, he said "Go fishing!"

*Captain Zoom serenaded me as he has every year, for as long as I can remember. For those who don't know who Captain Zoom is, here's a sampler:
So eighties. My grandmother bought the personalized tape when I was a toddler, and it's one of the few memories I have of her. My dad always insists on playing it at every birthday party, and I'm at the age now where it's more nostalgic than mortifying. When I was a preteen, it was the worst!

We also celebrated J's half-birthday, since six months is an awful long time when you're a baby. I know it's a silly concept, but we had a get-together when S turned six months (almost five years ago... eep!) and I wanted to continue the tradition.

So here's to twenty-eight!