It may be a couple of weeks early, but due to my in-laws 50th wedding anniversary trip and Easter, John’s 40th birthday got celebrated early. John, not one for surprises or much attention at all, I knew that if I wanted him to ever talk to me again, a surprise party was out of the question. Instead, I convinced him that turning 40 did warrant some sort of gathering. He agreed to celebrating with family, then I added that he should have his closest friends there (I had to ease him into the whole party idea). So, on March 20th, our family and friends (50 of them, we do have a lot of family) gathered
at John’s brother’s house for John’s 40th birthday bash. His brother, Bob, kept busy at the wood burning pizza oven making all kinds of yummy pizzas, our friend, Rick, manned the bbq with hamburgers and hotdogs, my mother, of course, played anyone she could get her hands on at ping pong, there were kids in the pool, teenagers playing Wii in the pool house and friends gathered around the pool table and the bbq/bar area. We also feasted on a delicious white cake with cheesecake filling that was decorated with a “capatilla” (you have to be from CCV to understand the humor with that). What a blast! It was such a treat to visit with close friends from all different stages of John’s life, some that we hadn’t
seen in quite awhile. There were PLENTY of fun gifts: hair color, creams for all kinds of “old people” ailments, a “40 Sucks” sucker and many more. There were also special gifts, like the traditional poem that my father writes for all our birthdays. It was SO APPROPRIATE that John is still healing from knee surgery and was on a crutch for his 40th birthday (he graduated to 1 crutch instead of 2) and I decorated it with black ribbon. I also made a picture collage that included photos from many of the special moments in his life and put them in a large matted frame for everyone to write a message for John. It was a special day that we will remember for many, many years to come.
It may be a couple of weeks early, but due to my in-laws 50th wedding anniversary trip and Easter, John’s 40th birthday got celebrated early. John, not one for surprises or much attention at all, I knew that if I wanted him to ever talk to me again, a surprise party was out of the question. Instead, I convinced him that turning 40 did warrant some sort of gathering. He agreed to celebrating with family, then I added that he should have his closest friends there (I had to ease him into the whole party idea). So, on March 20th, our family and friends (50 of them, we do have a lot of family) gathered 
at John’s brother’s house for John’s 40th birthday bash. His brother, Bob, kept busy at the wood burning pizza oven making all kinds of yummy pizzas, our friend, Rick, manned the bbq with hamburgers and hotdogs, my mother, of course, played anyone she could get her hands on at ping pong, there were kids in the pool, teenagers playing Wii in the pool house and friends gathered around the pool table and the bbq/bar area. We also feasted on a delicious white cake with cheesecake filling that was decorated with a “capatilla” (you have to be from CCV to understand the humor with that). What a blast! It was such a treat to visit with close friends from all different stages of John’s life, some that we hadn’t 
seen in quite awhile. There were PLENTY of fun gifts: hair color, creams for all kinds of “old people” ailments, a “40 Sucks” sucker and many more. There were also special gifts, like the traditional poem that my father writes for all our birthdays. It was SO APPROPRIATE that John is still healing from knee surgery and was on a crutch for his 40th birthday (he graduated to 1 crutch instead of 2) and I decorated it with black ribbon. I also made a picture collage that included photos from many of the special moments in his life and put them in a large matted frame for everyone to write a message for John. It was a special day that we will remember for many, many years to come. 
