Mason's 3rd Birthday

On Saturday we celebrated Mason's 3rd birthday. In following the tradition of birthdays at the park (1st year at Kelly Park; 2nd year at Oakland Zoo), this year was at Tilden Park in Berkeley.

Upon seeing Veronica, she immediately asks why I haven't been blogging much lately. She insisted I must blog about this party and take lots of pictures because it's a tradition. Because her sister, who's overseas, relies on my blog to record this annual event. Oh, and another tradition is that every year I have to remind Patrick to cut the watermelon!

To Veronica and my other faithful readers, I apologize for the lack of blogging lately. It's hard to explain how the blogging mood comes and goes. Maybe it's because my life has been kinda uneventful lately. Maybe it's because I'm trying to spend more than my usual 30 minutes each night with the family. Or maybe it's because my job is miserable and draining due to me trying to maintain a balancing act of dealing with clueless management while at the same time being grateful I'm still employed.

Parties like these are what I look forward to all the time. It's such a blessing to be surrounded by friends, especially those I don't see every week like Pat and Milton. And it's such a joy to see all our children grow up together. I feel sorry for 75% of my coworkers who really don't have a life outside of work. Their goal in life is just to survive long enough to collect their pension.

Thanks Patrick and Veronica for not only a great get-together, but for also giving me reason to blog again!

Grandma demonstrating to Mason on how to impress the ladies.

"We have a LOT of food. I sure hope there is enough charcoal..."

This is like a scene at the start of a horror movie where a bunch of kids
wander into the woods and one by one they disappear.

Look, one is already missing...

In the end these adventurous kids all found their way back.
I just hope they don't go home with poison oak.

Ha! And you thought video games were violent...

For the record, it wasn't MY son that decapitated Mr. Gabba Gabba.

After Mr. Gabba Gabba was decapitated, a few other kids (not mine) decided to
further bash his head in. Their parents must be so proud.

"Um, why are you fools blowing MY cake??"

Jarod is excited to be the newest addition to our annual "Dads Picture."
The other three probably could care less.

He's patiently waiting for us to leave so he can feast in the garbage can.