Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
We spent the morning preparing the house for the expected 2:00 pm onslaught of teenagers for Charlie’s 18th birthday shindig. It’s hard to imagine Charlie is eighteen years old, driving, and heading for college soon!
Eighteen years of pure enjoyment!
Joe came over early and we did the final preparations, putting up the shade covers, pumping up and deploying the pool’s toys, setting chairs up, etc.
Joe needed to relax, so he decided to ride the Swan. The Swan had a different idea.
Pre-Party Joe tries to ride the Swan.
It was embarrassing to watch a grown 200-pound man get beaten up by a 3-pound plastic blow-up Swan. What can we say?? We did not hear a single “Ride ’em, cowboy!”
Remember, Swans are majestic, beautiful-looking creatures with really ugly temperaments.
Swan – 1; Joe – 0
The tents will be housing hungry teenagers devouring tacos and burritos in about an hour! They also serve to keep hot food from hitting the grass!
Tacos, a staple of Mexican cuisine, have a rich history and interesting trivia surrounding them. The word “taco” is believed to have originated with Mexican silver miners who used the term to describe small explosives wrapped in paper. Over time, the term evolved to describe the food we know and love, a tortilla filled with various ingredients. There’s even a National Taco Day celebrated on October 4th.
The preparations get serious.
The patio is set up for the adults to provide the necessary adult supervision! We all sat outside watching the kids cavorting in the water and swapping stories about those things that never happened.
The patio is ready to receive guests.
The cold drinks are on the patio, ensuring the occasional beer doesn’t get added to the pile of cans. Kids will be kids!!
Room for everyone!
We heard the area become quiet, which was a reason to be suspicious.
Last one in is a rotten egg!
There were about fifteen teenagers, and they were very well behaved; it was a pleasure to have them celebrate at our home.
Watch the video below to see what they were up to.
The game was “How much water can be splashed out of the pool???”
Stand back, the teenagers smelled food! The dinner bell had just started ringing, and then a gaggle of teens jumped out of the pool and hit the food lines!
Food is about to be served!
Filler-up! The meal was quite good, and the people were terrific. They made tacos and burritos for the people running the snow cone truck in the front yard. The snow cone people returned the favor and sent snow cones to the cooks.
Joe went next door and asked the neighbors to join in the festivities.
Come and get it!
We had to leave around 4:30 pm, so we did NOT get to see Charlie get his birthday present. However, Joe took photos that we will see later. His present, you asked. It was a full-sized black pickup truck!
We departed the birthday a little early as Bob had two performances at the Gaslamp in Long Beach.
Robon and Nick came by our house and drove us over to Long Beach. On the way, we stopped by the Caribbean/Mexican Grill, a place where I have been going for thirty years.
Bob dumped for two of the tribute bands!
Bob stopped by to visit right before the show!
Bob goes on in a few minutes!
The noise was somewhat extreme, but all in all, fun!
Having fun!!
At half time, my ears began to yell for help, and Nick drove us home. He is a good driver. We got home and crashed. My head stopped pounding around 4:30 am.
