Happy Birthday, Joe!

Today is Joe's birthday, but we celebrated yesterday. Apparently I had too much fun chatting with our families, sipping a New Glarus beer and grumbling about the Packers pathetic performance to take pictures.

I don't know, though, if pictures would have properly captured the relaxed, fun atmosphere of the day. We spent the afternoon with Joe's parents, my dad (poor Diana was sick), Bob, his girlfriend and her daughter and my sister and her fiance munching on cheese and crackers and chips and salsa and sipping beer while cheering the Packers onto victory. Well, most of us anyway. Bob and Blake were brave enough to show up for the birthday celebration wearing their Bears hat and sweatshirt respectively, but after giving them a hard time, the rest of us, all Packer fans, managed to avert our eyes from the offending logos.

I made a couple different kinds of chili over the weekend and reheated them in crock pots before leaving for church in the morning. Before the game I whipped up some easy corn bread and that was the extent of my culinary efforts. I was actually able to sit and relax instead of cooking prior to the meal. It was a nice change of pace. Joe's mom was nice enough to bring down an apple upside down cake (Joe's favorite) and I whipped up a mocha torte so we'd have enough cake with the larger crowd.

And the best part? The birthday boy proclaimed the day a success. Happy birthday, Joe!