Congrats all around!

Marin had another big weekend. On Saturday, Jake, Katy, Jason and I were thrilled to throw my parents a 40th anniversary party. Can you imagine 40 years?! As I said on Saturday night, I can only hope that Jason and I have the pleasure of spending 40 plus years together. My grandparents have been married for 65 years, so 40 is old news to them. We've just coming up on six years and we think that is noteworthy.

Both Katy and I took off of work on Friday to prepare and clean and set up. Jason and Jake joined us that evening. I'd say it was a ratio of about 80% work and 20% ridiculousness. Definitely the way to do it. Jake dared me to take a shot of mustard for 20 bucks. Of course the sibling rivalry, and my "that's nothing" attitude" fueled me to jump on it. Then he changed the game. For my cockiness, he said the ante jumped up to a shot of red pepper hummus, grape jam and mayonnaise. Same reward. I did it, but not without a few gags. When I threw the shot glass into the sink in disgust at the end, Jake made sure I had finished. He showed me that too much had slipped down the drain. I didn't believe it, but I looked and sure enough, it appeared that a large amount of the horrid concoction was in the drain. Jake said that as a consolation, I had to eat a teaspoon full of horseradish. Why I was still complying at this point is a psychological study beyond me. But, I obliged none the less. And after I washed the red pepper, grape jam, mayo shot down with horseradish, and I tried to wash the remaining evidence out of the sink, and discovered that what was in the drain was not the remaining shot , but a piece of pizza. Awesome. I have been tasting red pepper yuck and horseradish for days now- and it was all for nothing. Well, except that I am up 20 bucks. If I'd had a sister, we'd have stayed up late whispering and painting each others nails. But I have a brother, so we dare each other to eat gross mixes from the fridge.

But I digress... The party came and went on Saturday in what seemed like a blink. All of my parent's closest friends piled into our house for a celebration of them and everything that they have accomplished and been through together in the past 40 years. It was a wonderful tribute to their lives together thus far, and many stories of the past were shared.

Saturday morning, Marin and I made a quick stop at our neighbor's 2nd birthday party in the park. Marin loved seeing her little friends and it was a gorgeous afternoon to spend a little time at the playground. Then we went home and finished preparing for the party. Before the guests arrived, Erica came to take pictures of all seven of us and she stayed to take pictures of the party. We are so grateful that she gave up a Saturday night with her family to do this for us. Erica is always so much fun, and this picture really shows that. I barely was able to take any pictures myself, and I know that Erica's will be much better than I could have captured.

My sister-in-law, Holly, on Jason's side, makes gorgeous cakes, and the cake she made for this occasion was exactly that. I always remember my mom talking about how she loves the stephanotis flowers that were at she and my dad's wedding. Holly made them a beautiful cake covered in stephanotis flowers, with a pink banner that matched the color of my mom's bridesmaid's dresses. Since Holly lives in Indiana, Jake drove on Saturday to meet her halfway and brought the cake back. They both really went out of their way, and I really appreciate it. I wanted the cake to be really special, and it definitely was!

We made a lot of food and served plenty of beverages. Pictures of my parent's wedding and through out the years that followed were displayed. A crowd favorite was a picture of the four of us dressed up like pirates that we took during a trip to Disney World circa 1988. And the picture of my parent's on the night that they were engaged showed how young they were when they decided to be together forever. We also asked people to share their favorite memories of the past 40 years with my mom and dad in a book. Those stories got increasingly better as the night when on.

We took a few minutes in the middle of the night to publicly congratulate my parents and say a few words about what an excellent example they have set for us on how to love each other. We feel so lucky to have shared all that we have together, and we wish them many more years of happiness and health ahead. Marin wandered from person to person saying "Hi" and staring down their plates of food. She figured out how to play the crowd for optimum cookie and dessert eating. She stayed up until her eyes were completely glazed over. That girl is a party girl at heart!

The party ironically fell on the eve of Jake and Katy's one year anniversary. We kidded them that they had a little catching up to do, and reflected on the parallel between having just completed your first married year together, and that of 40 years together.

We celebrated into the morning, and Sunday came earlier than we considered the night before when we all agreed to one more drink. Marin, Jason and I kicked Father's Day off with a family bike ride at Jason's request. We rode along the river and ended our ride at Molly's graduation party. Marin was so proud to celebrate her Auntie Molly's graduation for Northwestern's Kellogg, where she got her MBA! We could only stay for a little bit, however, because from there we headed to my Aunt and Uncle's house for a Father's Day celebration with my family. It was a gorgeous day at the lake and Marin especially enjoyed the boat ride. She loved to reach over the side of the boat to splash in the water. We had to really hold on to her tightly, because she wanted to dive in head first! Marin and I are so grateful for not only her amazing Daddy, but for her Grandpa, and her Pappy and her two Great Grandpas. They are not only great dads, but amazing men. And we are so lucky to have them in our lives. I'm especially partial to Marin's daddy. He's kind of a hunk. And he cooks!

We ended the day with just the three of us and a walk to the ice cream store. I decided to treat Jason and Marin to ice cream with my red pepper hummus, grape jam, mayo and horseradish winnings. We are exhausted today, but once again we are thankful to be at the end of a wonderful weekend full of family and friends. We are so thankful for my parents- for all that they give and share with us and others. Our house packed full of laughter and the buzzing of stories from both old friends and new was a true testament to how great of a couple they are, and how FUN they are! We will be excited to be one of those people at Jake and Katy's 40th anniversary in 39 years. Marin could be there with her own family by then!

Nothing is better than a Saturday in the park with good friends, and we wish Parker a great 3rd year ahead! And of course we are proud of Auntie Molly! I know that she will always be a great example for Marin that no goal is too great, nor dream too big. She'll also come in handy when Marin asks a math question that mommy has loooong forgotten how to answer.

Congrats all around!