Erica turns 34!
May 2, 2021

We figured out that (1.) Erica is getting fairly old and (2.) unfortunately, at 68, I am exactly twice her age (which means that I am getting really old!) We celebrated Erica's birthday the weekend before her actual birthday because Michelle was in town to celebrate Sophia's 2nd birthday. The photo to the left shows Sophia helping poor old Erica blow out her candles. To the right, Erica is opening one of her presents.

But, hey, I'm jumping ahead of myself!

The day started at Pappadeaux's on the northwest side of town. We had a little hiccup at the beginning when after a 45 minute delay in seating, we were told that no more than 10 people could sit at the same table due to COVID-19 . Of course, when we made the reservation for 12 people, no one told us that. Fortunately, we were able to get two very close tables and in the end, it all worked out fine.

The appetizers and the drinks started to come in steady fashion and soon, any worries we had about the seating melted away. Andrew and Sylvia were able to join us for the festive occasion. To the right, Sylvia and I were drowning all our troubles in a sea of Swampthings, Pappadeaux's famous combination drink of a margarita and a hurricane.

Here's Stella-bella who seems to be in a world of her own. She'll eat anything that you give her and she'll even try to feed it back to you. She looks a little fuzzy in this picture but I'm thinking that it's just that I had too much of that Swampthing drink. Kevin on the other hand is a picky eater. Notice that his plate is empty and the only thing he seemed to eat was the bread. I have to admit that the bread was warm and delicious.

Jordan and Michelle can't seem to get enough of each other (but really, they're fighting over the shrimp fondue that Jordan is spooning out). James is seen sitting proudly with two of his sons. Cynthia is holding one of her favorite drinks, a cucumber martini. Although she seems to be inviting you to try it, I could not wrestle it away from her. She has a habit of lying and saying I drink it too fast!

The final picture, here, shows Cynthia with her little boy. It was a quiet moment in an otherwise boisterous night of jokes and loud conversation. When we got back to the house, we played Mambo #5 (Mom's song to Erica), sang "Happy Birthday" and presents were given all around. Even Jordan got a gift and it wasn't even her birthday. Sylvia graciously brought a gift each for Sophia and Erica and was part of the gathering. Unfortunately, nobody, including Sylvia, could beat Jordan in a close game of darts that evening. I didn't play because I wanted Jordan to have a chance to win, 'cuz she knows I'm better than she (even though she and Cynthia slaughtered me 4 games in a row at basketball the night before at Peter Piper's Pizza). Oh, well. That's the way it goes. Still a great weekend celebrating Sophia's 2nd and Erica's 34th birthdays.

Back the Family Room