Today we celebrated my dad’s 80th birthday..   his real birthday isn’t until tomorrow.. but today was the big shindig..

Diane and and I began the day by lying in the parking lot and looking up at the sky whi;e the kids slept..

Diane and I headed over to my folks and let the boys sleep in a little.. we went back and got them around 10.. we picked up my dads cake on the way back.. it was good that we were able to find a cake with my dads picure.. it was the last one they had.. (haha)

The day was basically unpunctuated meal.. we began with lox and bagels.. and kept noshing all day..

We also did some very nice sitting around. Te weather was perfect for sitting outside.

late afternoon we finally ventured out of the house. Our mission was to find two nearby geocaches. we had never done geocaching.. but.. many samstones end  up in caches.. I thought it was fun to do it ourselves.. we followed our gps to the first cache site near the playground..

Gabe found the first cache. It was in a hole in a large tree.

It was full of a bunch of plastic toys. We added a samstone and a sam pin..

Max updatesd the log.. then we put it all back together.

Then on to the next cache.. with gabe driving.

Chris found this one

again.. we put a samstone in there.i also left 2000 costa rican colones. . and we took a small plastic shark.

Then we zoomed home.. it was time for birthday dinner. My mom showed up with the food.. beutiful sushi.. around 6:30

We got ready.. then went up and got the birthday boy.

We all held hands bfore eating all 18 of us.. actually 19 of us.. my dad and I held a samstone..

We made toasts to dad.. many of us spoke.. he is much loved…

then… we dug in. there was fish flying everywhere..

Once most of the sushi was gone.. it was time for cake..

Then cards.. I can’t draw.. so I made mine blink.

Dad loved all the cards..

Billy drew this !

Shaun found dad a cool book about his home town.. his grandfather and uncle were mentioned in the book

Berto found dad a cool hat

and Mary took the lead in combining lots of our pictures into a great book for dad..

We went trhoguht he 100 page book a page at a time. .

Pictures from when my dad was a young kid

My dad proposing to my mom !

..

and as not so little kids..

Then came all of our families.. Lots of smiles and lots of tears.. The pictures of our family… and the ones of sam had us all crying.. he was so missed.. and so there at the same time..

Then Max broke out some ‘apple pie’ moonshine he’d brought up from Virginia. and we had a closing toast.. this stuff was GOOD !

I made soemthign for dad too.. when I was about 6 I took a small metal tin and glued construction paper on it.. and filled it with colorful scraps of paper.. he carried it for years.. He called it his ‘happy box’..   I decide.. what the heck.. it worked before.. so i made him another.. though this one was full of family pictures..   He liked it.

Then we all retired to the living room.. where max and billy serenaded us..

It has been a wonderful day. My dad loved it.. and we love him !
happy birthday dad
Nite all. Nite Sam.. we feel you near..
-me