Grant's Birthday Weekend

Grant turned 29 on December 7th and because his birthday was on a Sunday, we had to celebrate all weekend. On Saturday, I planned an excursion to San Diego for us and a few guests which were Anne, Jared and Todd. We started early in the morning, so we had Krispy Kreme donuts and milk and orange juice for breakfast for everyone.

Then, we walked out to the car and this is what our guests found waiting for them...

Our activity was a surprise for Grant and we needed to get pumped up for what we'd be doing. We timed it right so that we would open our cans and be totally amped and good to go by the time we got there. We opened the cans all at once and toasted to 29!

Grant got crazy with downing two at once! He's an animal! (The funny thing is Grant doesn't drink caffeine and when he does, he feels the effects really quickly and intensely but since it was his birthday... he went all out)

We got to our destination and I was so excited for Grant to see what we'd be doing. At Sarah's Smash Shack, the concept is, you pick out what you want to break, you get all geared up, you go into a specially designed room, crank up the volume to your personal music via an iPod attachment, and throw your breakables up against the wall and get out all your aggressions. Since Grant has been having a hard time at work lately, and I had never heard of such a place, I thought it would be unique, fun and effective for getting out his frustrations and celebrating his birthday all at the same time! Anne cooperated with the signing-your-life-away rules.

Then, we got to pick our poison. What kind of thing do we want to throw up against a wall and break? We got ten plates, and two mystery boxes. Everyone got to choose 2 things they wanted to throw, and Grant got to choose 4 things. They had ugly things, pretty things, things that are hard to break, things that are easy... Decisions decisions.

We got all geared up and went at it. They have an MP3 attachment for an iPod and we got to blast whatever tunes we wanted while we went bananas. We started out with "It's Your Birthday" by 50 cent of course, while Grant started our session off by throwing his item of choice.

They have markers there that you can use to write on the pieces of breakware what it is that has been frustrating you lately. For me...

The three ninjas did a finale of going all at once. Everyone had a great time and we were all totally invigorated. We all want to go back and we all thought it was a great fun activity. It's everything you want it to be. If anyone is looking for a unique idea for a special event, check it out.

Getting dressed again, Grant decided to use my headband as an eye patch. Wear the eye patch Grant, wear the funky funky eye patch.

Here we are waiting outside the Hash House a Go Go which was recommended to me by a San Diegoan and I'm glad I took her advice. It was so good and only a couple blocks away from Sarah's Smash Shack. We ate there for lunch.

The plates were literally the biggest plates any of us had ever seen and the food was unbelievably good in unbelievably large portions. They are known for their breakfast and we can see why. Jared ordered the French Toast and we all agreed it was the best French Toast we had ever tasted. We were not disappointed. It was a perfect note to end on.

On Sunday, we had a bit of a dinner party. I cooked up Pork Tenderloin with Chimichurri sauce (Tyler Florence recipe which is a croud pleaser), Cauliflower that tastes like mashed potatoes (I don't think any of our guests knew it was cauliflower, I'm pretty sure they thought it was potatoes and there were no leftovers), brussel sprouts with chestnuts and shallot butter, salad with red onion dressing and rolls. And Grant requested a giant cookie for his cake so we made it into the shape of a heart. We served it with Cookies and Cream ice cream, Pizookie style (the key is slightly undercooking the cookie and we put cream cheese frosting on top-surprising yummy).

After that, we relaxed and opened a couple of presents. Here is a scene. The brothers are having a laugh with Jared's friend Trisha.

I'm not sure if this game was Chris' or Bailey's idea?

Some people got all riled up. Typical. Happy Birthday Grant and thanks to David, Chris, Bailey, Levi, Anne, Carrie, Jared, Trisha, Todd and Sona who came to celebrate with us. It was a great way to bring on 29. His last year of the twenties!