Day 6--The Family Party

Wisely, we decided not to try to cram in an activity this morning, but instead, took some much-needed down time just hanging out, enjoying a late breakfast, reading and chatting. We left for San Jose around 2 pm. Good thing, too, since parts of Highway 101 were inexplicably bottlenecked and came to almost a standstill, adding at least 1/2 an hour to our time. We still got there early enough to check into our hotel before the party at Eric's (and dump our stuff, including a generous bag full of fine chocolates that would have melted in the heat of the car!)

We were responsible for providing the dessert. We went to a nearby bakery Eric had recommended and Paul and Mom picked out a decadent tiramisu cake that later earned raves from everyone. We got a bit turned around and lost trying to get to Eric's, but figured it out after a phone call from the road and actually arrived right on time.

This was my first time seeing Eric's new house, which is gorgeous and furnished with beautiful things. Eric always had an eye for quality even as a little kid (unlike myself--I was always too frugal). I didn't take any pics of the house, but Dad did on an earlier visit this year--click here to get an idea.

My cousin Jill was there with her husband Rob and son Alex, soon followed by Uncle Jack, Aunt Barb, my cousin Mike and his wife Laura. Rusty's parents, Al and Peggy, were also staying for a few days from North Carolina. It was great to see everyone again (hadn't seen them since Eric & Rusty's wedding 2+ years ago) and get a chance to catch up.

This family can cook kick-ass food! Eric grilled chicken and chicken sausage on his giant, state-of-the-art gas grill. We had a beautiful layered fruit salad in a trifle bowl and 2 Mediterranean-inspired pasta salads.

Jill, Laura, and Mike:

Here's everybody just hanging out after dinner:

As it got dark, we all sat in a big circle on the huge, covered patio talking and throwing around a glow-in-the-dark Koosh ball. Around 9 pm, we decided to take a "cousins" picture. Here are, from left, me, Mike, Jill, Eric, and Alex:

During dinner, I had particularly enjoyed the sweet, hot, pickled peppers in a salad that Eric and Rusty had made. They were just hot enough to widen my eyes without bringing tears to them. When I picked up my purse at the end of the night, there was a cylindrical mystery package crammed into it. "Hey, look, a gift from the Un-Birthday Fairy!" I said.

"Well, some kind of fairy," Eric replied. (It turned out to be a new jar of the special peppers--that was sweet of them.)

We got Rusty to open his birthday gifts from us early, which was fun.

The hotel has in-room jacuzzis in every room. Paul and I enjoyed ours for about 15 minutes, along with 2 of our truffles, getting a head start on our anniversary celebrations.