Jamie's 40th birthday bash

Jamie's birthday was actually on Monday 11th March but a Saturday is a much better day for a celebration. After a miserable day of rain on Thursday and some thunder again last night it was fortunate that tonight we had perfect party weather. This photo was taken shortly after candle blowing ceremony which was done early so the children could enjoy it. What a handsome son-in-law with smiley eyes.

There would have been around 40 guests plus littlies and the back garden was a lovely space for mingling, eating and drinking. Tara had it really well set up for the children with plenty for them to play with, thus managing to keep them outdoors. There would have been about 10 children most aged between 1 and 3, and they were so well behaved it was a pleasure to have them there. I was amazed at how Lucy (aged 19 months) kept going until 9.30, happily playing. Emily also did very well but had a little melt down when it was suggested that she goes to Nana's for a sleepover...she was exhausted but didn't want to miss anything. That soon passed and by 10pm (way past their normal bedtime) both babes were asleep in Nana's bedroom. I'm hoping that Lucy will sleep past 5.30am, but if not perhaps I will take them to the beach and get a dawn photo.

It was an extremely busy day for me. I decided to have a go at cooking a few canapes to take to the party. I usually get stressed with catering and thought I would see if I could enjoy the process for a change. As Tara wasn't expecting anything from me there was no pressure. If things didn't work out I could bin them. So .... 3 dozen of each of the following were prepared: Thai Chicken and peanut balls with sweet chilli sauce, marinated chicken wings, gruyere and pecan filo pastries, and finally mushroom palmiers. Gaby made babaganoush and hummus with crudites. All went down a treat and recipes were requested :-). It took from 1pm to 4.30 to prepare it all but I was working steadily and quite enjoyed myself. Wouldn't want to be doing it for a living.

All in all a very successful party and lovely celebration for Jamie.

PS..how hard is it to take group photos. Not my thing it seems. Tried to get a nice photo of Jamie with his mum but she would rather not be photographed and consequently all were a flop.