Sunday, August 04, 2019

Happy 40th Birthday, Cuz!

My bestie cousin Dan turned forty this week, so I flew to California with Uncle Tom to join the celebration! They have great dogs, which made missing Felix a little easier. Here's Rosie!



Rosie is very excitable.



Amy got Dan a Texas Original smoker for his birthday! The big plan for the weekend was to smoke forty pounds of brisket for a birthday party. Go big or go home!



On Dan's actual birthday, we went out for lunch at Zoccoli's Delicatessen in Santa Cruz.



Birthday boy!



Look at Henry's loose ham! Eek!



Dan had a LOT of wood delivered for the smoker. One of our projects was to move it from the driveway to over by the shed.



Look at that pile!



Dan practiced using the smoker by smoking some chickens.



Jazz supervised.



We had banana cream pie for a birthday dessert!



Henry with his wolves.



Jazz monitoring me as I tore apart leftover smoked chicken carcasses.



We made the trek to Corralitos Market to pick up the brisket!



Henry enjoying another delicious sandwich.



Tour of Henry's clubhouse!



The brisket all seasoned and ready to smoke.



Danny made a 40 years of music playlist for his birthday. Hits from every year of his life!



The backyard all picked up and ready for a party!



Ready for guests!









Henry has serious driving skills for a six-year-old.



The brisket turned out amazing!!! Smoked for 24 hours. Here's Italo enjoying some meat.



Dinner time!



Everything was so delicious, but especially that brisket. Best I've ever had in my life! Birthday boy nailed it!



CAKE!



Party!



Happy family!



Dan with his bandmates!



Jazz hands!



Trampoline!



Scotchity scotch scotch!



Henry driving Lily around!



What a good brother!



Lily and Henry!



Dan also smoked some sausages from Corralitos Meat Market, and they were amazing.



I had an audience as I packed up my suitcase to go home. Aw. I'll miss them!



3:30 a.m. wakeup call makes for tired travelers. It was fun, Santa Cruz!



No comments: