Fiddy

Our summer adventures started in May, with a certain milestone birthday. We celebrated Mike with a surprise party, and in retrospect, scheduling said party 10 days after the birthday was an act of genius, since I spent his birthday weekend with a still-contagious case of pneumonia.

Mike's friend/former coworker Stacey used a golf game to get him out of the house. Somehow, even though she gave him a 10-minute head start, Stacey arrived at the party before he did. [Insert elderly driver joke here. We did.]

He was greeted by this:

Best. Party favor. Ever.

My sister Heather introduced me to the Face Kebab when she had a bunch of them made for my brother-in-law Kevin's 40th. I knew we needed them for Mike too. Since we still have quite a few of them left, it's possible the kids will all go as Mike for Halloween.

He ditched the head gear as soon as he could.

The party location was Putnam Lane's usual site for shenanigans: the shared driveway area across the street from our house. One driveway held the food (including County Line barbecue), another held the band, hidden behind a garage door until showtime. Their mandate: To play as many Who songs as they could.

Mike joined the band for a few numbers

He wasn't the only one enamored with the bongos. Leah was particularly enamored, and the band was really good to her.

The festivities continued well into the night. The next morning, Mike wasn't the only old who might have been feeling his age.

Some partygoers were exhausted by 11 or so ...

... And then found a fifth wind and kept going.

Catch-up: End-of-summer fun

Mike took Lauren and Maddie to Dallas for some end-of-summer fun. They had quality bonding time with their cousins, as well as a true Texas experience -- great Tex-Mex food and blistering heat.

Mike texted me pictures of their food all weekend, including pix from Uncle Julio's. I resisted the temptation to change the locks. They definitely ate well, and the cousins really hit it off.

Father's Day tribute

Happy Father's Day to an awesome dad from his wife and three quirky children.

Worth every penny

For once, we did not mind paying extortionate amusement park prices for a picture. This one is from our trip to Hershey Park a few weeks back. (Big thanks to our friends the Rulos and the defense contractor Northrup Grumman for the preseason visit.) Mike and Leah got some quality dad-daughter time on the roller coasters. The picture is from the Wild Mouse ride, which looks relatively benign from the ground, but Mike assures me I would hate it. I might have to revise my stance on roller coasters long enough to hear Leah's happy cackles as she gets a few minutes of awesome sensory input. The original picture has pride of place on Mike's desk at work.