A Barbecue and Benihana Birthday

I tried to convince my mom that we really didn't need to celebrate my birthday . . . but she insisted.  I guess that's why I enjoy having parties for my kids so much.  Over the weekend, my Mom's sister and husband from Reno stopped by and made the mistake of playing cards with PJ.  Then, my brother and his boys (in the US from Hong Kong) joined in on the fun and stayed for a backyard barbecue.  We get together so infrequently, that I had my friend Kimberly come over to take some pictures . . . stay tuned in a future post.


If that wasn't enough, my sweet mom treated us to dinner at Benihana.  

It was entertaining to watch the chef prepare the food . . . the volcano looked better when he flickered the lights to create a type of strobe light effect.

 

But Jake was pretty entertaining, too.

Hopefully the boys won't remember this dinner when I remind them not to play with their food.

Our guests included Marcy, 

Tita Delza (my mom's other sister from Reno) 

her daughter and my cousin, Jerilyn  

and of course, my sweet husband - he didn't let work or a BART delay stop him from joining us.  He always finds a way to make me feel special, even on my birthday.

If it's your birthday, the folks at Benihana sing to you in Japanese and English while they pound on one of these cool drums:

 

I felt pretty lucky to be surrounded by so many loved ones on my birthday.  : )