Happy 65th Birthday MorFar!!!

We returned last night from the best birthday celebration I’ve been a part of for a long, long time. Today is MorFar’s 65th birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY MORFAR!!!), and we celebrated his 65 years over the weekend.

My dad’s wish for his 65th birthday was to have his family together. My mom (the Master of making-a-vision-a-reality) made his wish come true in a big way. She sprang for treating us all to a weekend away, with many special treats thrown in. My parents and my sister’s family all live a good 8-12 hours away from us (depending on traffic, weather, who is driving, and who else is in the car!). The halfway point between where they live and where we live is somewhere in the viscidity of Worcester, Massachusetts… which is a pretty nice coincidence given that is where my dad grew up and where his dad still lives. So we all met up in the Worcester area for the grand celebration of MorFar’s 65th.

The centerpiece of the weekend was “MorFar’s Birthday Party” which took place on Saturday afternoon/evening at “the most fancy restaurant!” (direct quote from the bambinos). We went to an old favorite steakhouse of our family– One Eleven Chop House. Oh my goodness gracious, what a special treat for us all! It was my dad’s birthday, but I walked away from that restaurant feeling like my mom just gave each of us our own birthday present for the whole next year— it was that good! (THANK YOU MORMOR!) We went all out, ordering everything you can imagine, and I think it is safe to say we all enjoyed it to the max. Kyle, in particular, was totally smitten with the fancy-shmancy steak house experience. He keeps talking on and on about it reminiscing about the “tender juicy steak” he ate (his quote), and the hand-cut french fries that he discussed at length with the wait staff (“are these made here? are they homemade? from scratch? what kind of potatoes do you use?” etc! — yippee do dah day, my dream of raising foodies is coming true right before my eyes!!!). It was just a fabulous experience, complete with (for some of us — me included) an excellent bloody mary, oysters on the half shell, a great glass of cabernet, and incredibly delicious lamb (four of my very Top Ten Edibles in life). Impeccable service, a great vibe and atmosphere, and a relaxed group of 11 (nobody had to cook! nobody had to clean up!) made for a truly stunning 65th birthday party. Over the top excellent!

After dinner the party continued back at the hotel. It was so nice to be away together, without anyone having to worry about hosting or cleaning or anything else (thank you MorMor for the hotel!!!). That night the kids got to swim in the hotel’s pool with MorFar (a highlight of life for these four cousins is always and forever swimming swimming swimming! add MorFar to the mix and it is like putting icing on a cake!). Then we had MorMor’s best-ever homemade carrot cake and sang Happy Birthday to MorFar. We also, together, listed 65 things we love about MorFar. After the kids were in bed there were drinks and cigars late into the night.

The next morning the J-Ms joined my parents and Grandpa Les for church. This is the church my dad grew up going to, the church where I’ve spent every Easter of my life (and where my kids have too), and the church where my Grandma Lorraine’s memorial service was held. This church goes way, way back for the Johnson side. It is always special to go there. After church we went out to lunch with MorMor and MorFar before heading home. I had to snap this picture when I realized my boys were all matching on Sunday morning!

We J-Ms actually drove up to Massachusetts on Friday so that we could ensure our 3-year-old’s best spirits for Saturday’s celebration. It worked, and Meera (and all three of them, actually) was nothing but a charm for MorFar’s occasion. But because we had driven up on Friday, and the festivities did not begin until Saturday afternoon, we had a little extra time for something adventurous Saturday morning. We realized upon arrival in New England that we just happened to be there smack dab in the middle of Massachusetts maple sugaring season. So on Saturday we took the bambinos for An Education in Maple Sugaring.

We found a farm online that was open to the public, so we headed out for a little maple-sugaring adventure. And what an adventure it turned out to be! Turns out that not many people from the public actually do take part in the K E Farm “tour”… but nonetheless it did not seem to phase Ernie and his wife, the farm’s owners, when we showed up at their front door on Saturday morning! Ernie took our crazy family in stride and took us all out to his sugar shack where he showed us hands-on everything we’d ever want to know about how maple syrup is made. As a kid growing up in rural New Hampshire, it was not rare for my family to tap trees for sap, and cook off our own maple syrup in the early spring. So, I personally know all about it. But for Braydon and the bambinos this was a real eye-opening inside glimpse into the maple-sugaring process. We had such a good time! Ernie patiently answered the 1,000+ questions (and statements) that the bambinos came up with, dealt with their boundless energy and curiosity inside his sugar shack (and around his wood-fired sap cooker), and by the end Ernie seemed genuinely enamored with our crazy little kids– he was giving them all sorts of samples of syrup straight from the cooker, fresh maple sugar candy, and syrup straws (like honey straws, but with maple syrup inside instead). Thanks to Ernie the bambinos will never take real maple syrup for granted again!

All in all, just a fabulous fabulous weekend away for us J-Ms. We came home wishing the MorFar could turn 65 more often!!!