Because you only turn 39 1/2 once... Aaron decided that he wanted to celebrate his 40th birthday with friends in a huge backyard party during the summer. The problem: his birthday is in February. I totally poo poo'ed the idea at first, but then we thought...why the heck not. Thus, the 39 1/2 birthday celebration was born! Aaron did not want a theme, and just wanted to surround himself with everything he deems awesome--beer, friends, Mexican food, kids (that are entertained), and fun rum drinks. His adoring wife made it happen, and we had quite the shindig for (drumroll...) 119 people, including kids on July 9, 2011. A mere 7 months, and a few days before the big 4-0.
Thank you to everyone that joined the party, and especially to all of our awesome friends that brought appetizers, cupcakes, and ICE!!! One of the best parts of the party was realizing what a wonderful group of friends we have. Thank you!
Aaron did not want a cake. He wanted key lime pie, which sounded messy and complicated to me so we compromised on tartlets. I surprised him with this anti-cake when it came time for candle blowing.
The "theme" deserved custom banners.
Aaron's list of awesomeness was posted everywhere, and was quite the conversation starter.
The party is ready to start--complete with mai tai fountain.
Since Aaron would not choose a theme, I adopted the USC colors and chose limes for the decor.
We had several posters for guests to tell Aaron what they think is awesome (besides his wife). Reviewing the signs the next morning proved highly amusing.
The party in full swing. The adults partied in back while the kids were in front with 2 mega bounce houses, a face painter, and best of all 2 fabulous babysitters.
Island Style Tacos!
As a surprise to Aaron, I asked party goers to dress like the 1/2 birthday boy. Everyone that got in the spirit is pictured here. Lots of spooner shirts, khakis, flip flops, and a handful of visors.
Stan totally rallied and flew in from Denver (thanks for letting him come, Holiday!), and Sid (coming from Phoenix) was the first to make his plane reservation. Aaron was truly loved and celebrated all night!
Speaking of flying in, Kelly and Steve Edmundson came in from Reno!
Jamie, Pat, and Stan. SMHS buddies.
Shana and her little butterfly, Emma
Aaron and his twin, Tyler. Apparently these two have been mistaken for one throughout their lives. I didn't appreciate it fully until Facebook's face recognition software mistook them.
The UCSB crew (with some honorary members). Amy, Aaron, Shannon, me, Kath, Denise, and Sid.
More San Marino guys--Dan, Adam, Jamie, and David.
LOTS of neighbors came out, but only a few photos were taken. Our closest neighbors (geographically): Inna (w/ Baby Ava) and Nicole.
Steve and Melissa.
Toby & Jennifer, Julian & Kerri, and Shelley & Mike. Aaron knows Toby from his days working in Catalina, and they recently reconnected when they learned that we all live in Talega. At the party we realized that he knew many of our friends. We now refer to the 6-degrees of Toby.
Mike and Jen Wood with Haley (photographer extraordinaire all night).
Lane and Trisha
I got to cuddle with an adorable cheetah!
Candle time!
Silly time!
Nick, Jonathan, and Mike
The biotech guys totally represented!
The SMHS crowd had a mini reunion. A few people were not able to make it to the 20th reunion, and seemed to really enjoy the chance to get together and catch up.
Oh...I almost forgot the kids! Did I mention they were out front having a ball? They jumped like crazy in the two bounce houses, and the boys were running up and down the stairs to Waylon's room. All of the activity was under the supervision of two amazing babysitters. Hiring babysitters was the best party investment I made.
After the bounce houses went away, the kids headed up stairs for movie time. I often over think and over plan, but this actually worked out just as I'd hoped. Nothing like Disney movies and pirates booty snacks to get kids to behave. The nonstop play for several hours probably also contributed to their willingness to chill.
Jen, Haley, and Dana (the other fantastic photog!)
Aaron's boss/mentor, Steve also rallied for the celebration.
1 comment:
Fred would have loved the Taco Cart style cooking for his parties.
Post a Comment