In fairness and honesty, I have to start by saying that we did not get a chance to hit the trail today.  With that said, it was still a fantastic day!

In just two days it will be Squirrel's FIRST BIRTHDAY...we celebrated today with nearly 40 family members in our home.  Near and far, they came from all over.

Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins poured into our home from California, Arkansas, Northern Illinois, Indiana, Southwestern Illinois, and from right here in the Salem area.  Admittedly, some of them just happened to be in town for the weekend, but it sure was nice to see everyone again.

D-Cat has spent weeks planning this party.  From the decor (Pretty In Pink), to the menu (sloppy joes, grilled hot dogs, a couple kinds of chips, cottage cheese, cubed cheese, fresh tossed salad, olives, grilled portabella mushrooms with extra virgin olive oil/Kosher Salt/Fresh Cracked Pepper/Topped with chunks of Colby Cheese then grilled, and miscellaneous items), to the homemade 6 layer-3 story-ultra pink cake that D-Cat spent HOURS making over the course of Friday and Saturday.  My role in getting ready for the party was to mow the grass, clean the dining room, blow up & tie 45 pink balloons, and help prepare the food and buffet table.

The party officially started at noon, but we had folks showing up by 11:40am...a few minutes early, we weren't quite ready, but they were most welcome to be here!  We were pretty much finished but for a few finishing touches on the buffet and food prep.

As those with kids know, first birthday parties are extra special.  This one was no different.  There were tons of kids here who enjoyed playing with one another both inside and out.  We set up a 'Kids Table' outside that was used as home central for all the kids' eating, playing, and whatnot.  They played basketball, net-less badminton, football, and rode bikes.

Boy did they ride bikes!  At any given time there could've been 6 bicycles on the road and around the yard.  In fact, Spike, who has really been wanting to have his training wheels removed, was trying to ride one of his bikes with one bent training wheel and one extra sturdy training wheel.  He was doing fine, but was definitely ready to have the crutches removed.  I broke out the wrench, removed the t-wheels, gave him a couple of pointers on how to get going by himself, then stood back and watched with great pride and enthusiasm as he straddled the bike, gave a mighty push for the first time, and rode around the front yard all by himself!  After he realized that he did it alone, he came to a halt at the other end of the front yard and began what can only be described as a Happy Dance immediately followed by a double fisted leap into the air to yell out a mighty WOO-HOOOO!!!  What an amazing moment! There was no stopping him from that moment forward.  He rode his bike all over the place for the next couple of hours.  To see the look of pride and happiness in his eyes was quite extraordinary.

Well, by this time the party was winding down.  Just about 5 hours from the time of our first guests arrival, we had relatives high tailing it for Indiana, Chicago, Centralia, Granite City and Swansea, Illinois; not to mention those who were headed for their proverbial local barns.  All was good, Squirrel had a nice time, and to put it in the words of Spike (while commenting on his rite of passage) 'Today is a good day!'

Happy Birthday Squirrel!