Celebrating Dad's 60th

We celebrated my dad's 60th birthday on Saturday. At 60, he is in the throes of starting his own business, turning his passion for rock-crawling and 4x4s into a livelihood with the help of his partner, Eric. They've been working long hours for months to get the shop going, and the business is taking off, so we had lots to celebrate!

My sisters came from San Francisco and Boston, my aunt and uncle from Portland, another aunt from Florida, friends from Washington and Colorado, and more from all over California. He wanted to celebrate big with all his family and friends, and that's exactly what we did!

My parents hosted the party in their backyard, filling the lawn with tables to seat over 100, which my mother decorated with pumpkins and photos of my dad.



We had live music all afternoon, thanks to the abundant talent of my dad's friends and brothers. My dad's business partner has a country rock band, and his brothers and other long-time friends joined in, too. They got us all dancing...

My cousin Morgan made this incredible cake with my dad standing on top of his Jeep on a mountaintop...

 

Eldest and Middlest spent two weeks practicing "Happy Birthday" on their cello and violin to play for their Papa...

My sister Brook wrote and sang a very personal, original song for our dad, then recorded it so my sister Lindsay could include it in a 30-minute film she made. Lindsay's film told the story of my dad's life through interviews with family members, photos and video clips. (I served cake while the film was playing so I wouldn't embarrass myself by bawling through the whole thing!!)

It was a wonderful party, with lots of catching up with old friends, seeing how kids and grandkids have grown, sharing memories, and celebrating the continued pursuit of an adventurous life!

I love you, Dad! I'm so glad we live so close and can be involved in each other's daily lives! Happy 60th birthday -- that was one rockin' party for our Rock'nXJ!!