Terrific Tuesday

I gotta tell you, this is exactly why I love birthdays. All kinds of good things SHOULD and DO happen around your birthday!

As I've already posted, last Saturday was Ron's birthday. The three of us met up with our friends, Larry and Linda, and went to Jackalope's, our favorite restaurant, for dinner. We have never been disappointed with any food that has come out of their kitchen or service we've received. Plus the view can't be beat.

While we were there, we saw signs that Jackalope's was having an Easter brunch. While reservations were supposed to be needed, Sunday morning we showed up, hoping they could fit us in. Sure enough, they found a table for us. It was a great brunch, complete with a couple of mimosas! C'mon now, how can any day that starts with champagne and orange juice be a bad day?

Ron's best birthday present came on Monday. Ron's youngest son, Vince, flew in to town for his Dad's birthday! While it wasn't a surprise trip, it was sure the highlight of Ron's week. So, with Vince here for a week, there has been a whirlwind of activity around here. The boys are definitely ramping up the competition on the Wii system. I keep hearing "oh crap" or some variation of those words from each of them. It seems that they are pretty evenly matched and while one will win one game, the other seems to come back on the next. They have been a hoot.

The highlight for me was on Tuesday. My brother Jim was nice enough to drive all the way to Ohio again and join us for dinner. I made a mad dash to Sam's Club for some dinner supplies plus a trip to Fligner's for some great steaks. In my opinion, they are the best place to buy meat. We definitely weren't disappointed in the steaks they chose for me.

Ron and Vince were out in the rain on the grill with the steaks and portabella mushroom caps. Inside, I was on the steamed asparagus and fresh garlic bread. (I don't think I put too much garlic on there, but not everyone might agree with this. I thought it came out fantastic, but I might be biased here!)

For desert, we had some fresh strawberries and some leftover strawberry cake. It truly was a great dinner. After the dining room was cleared up and dishes were done, we got down to serious business.

Ron and Vince proceeded to the living room to pick up the Wii marathon. In true fashion for our family, Jim, Phil and I staked out the dining room table and broke out the pinochle cards! Ok, both of the boys had to be reminded of a few rules on how to play the game, but after that, the game proceeded.

It was strange. The three of us all recalled playing pinochle with Grandma, and when we'd argue about a hand or rehash it, we heard Dad's voice telling us he couldn't understand how we got enjoyment out of arguing over cards! Hey, it's how we grew up! The three of us enjoyed the warm fuzzies of the happy memories.

Best of all, is I won the pinochle game. Ok, maybe it was because they made keep score, but I think it was my superior pinochle playing. And maybe a little luck!

Yes, it was a terrific Tuesday.

As for the visit from Vince, all is going extremely well. He is a very laid back kid. I can call him a kid since we've decided he is exactly half my age. Yeah, somehow this should end up in the "that's just wrong" category but I digress. He's very agreeable to any idea as to what do to or where or what to eat. He's on vacation, and that's pretty much all he cares about.

And all I care about is his visit absolutely made Ron's birthday. And that's what it's all about.