Happy B'day Dad

Last Saturday was John’s 32^nd birthday. According to him he now has 3 “good years” left, because it’s all downhill after 35. Wa wa. Anyway, we’re not huge birthday people… I mean we’re over 30, so I don’t think it is necessary to have a whole week dedicated to yourself, parties upon parties complete with bedazzled head wear. But we did find an excuse to have a little “Beer Tasting Extravaganza” to celebrate the occasion. John has been hording a collection of craft beers to crack open on a special occasion, so I suggested we have a beer tasting party on his b’day and crack them open. Well, while John loved this idea, it backfired a bit… he decided that instead of opening the beers he has been holding onto he would instead just buy more "specials ones" for the party (I sort of knew this would happen….any excuse to get more, right?!).

Ian loved getting all the beers for the party. It took John like an hour at the store to pick them out, but thankfully Ian was having a blast in the cart. It was his first time sitting like a big boy in the cart and he loved it...he was scream out & shrieking in excitement.

We decided to take the beer tasting theme to the max. I prepared dinner for the event and every recipe included beer in it….(ie: slow cooked pork in an IPA, or beer glazed black beans). Oh, I also forgot to mention that I had the challenge of finding beer recipes that incorporated tacos (John’s favorite food). Well, we made it happen! I also modified this recipe and made some chocolate stout cupcakes made with Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti from Great Divide... While getting ready for the party I didn't have time for breakfast and lunch so instead I just sampled my cupcakes. What is wrong with a cupcake for b'fast? Nothing. It was so delish I had another for lunch. We've all done this sort of thing before, right? 

Per Krystal's suggestion, Baby Ian worn his special "my daddy is
an arrogant bastard" onsie... seemed very appropriate for dad's b'day :)
Oh, and Arrogant Bastard is a beer for
those who don't know.

The beer tasting was a huge hit! As you can see we sampled more than a few. We really enjoyed doing the tasting and have had people asking when the next one is going to be ... I can promise we're doing it again for sure, and it will be before John turns 33. 

Yes, his cowboy hat was worn all night