Can we talk for a minute about my dad? He’s pretty remarkable. One of the most genuinely friendly people I know, he’ll strike up a conversation with anyone and seems to leave a sea of smiles in his wake. He’s incredibly generous with his time, quick to offer to feed an injured neighbor’s alpacas or to coach my childhood softball team or to help me paint our new house. And he’s the perpetual life of the party – not in a dancing-with-a-lampshade-on-his-head kind of way, but more in a makes-sure-everyone-has-a-good-time kind of way. Which is why we were thrilled to meet up with him and my mom in Portland to celebrate his big 7-0 a couple of weeks ago. On his birthday eve, we gathered around Mitch and Kathryn’s table to dine on Mitch’s famous grilled chicken and Gresham’s finest cupcakes for dessert.
And then the girls ran off their cupcake-crazies in the front yard…
So happy, but so tired!
We laid pretty low during the day on Saturday, but did make it out of the house to watch Morgan dominate the soccer field.
The rest of the afternoon was spent swinging and teeter-tottering.
Saturday evening was the main event: The Jarrell Birthday Brew Crawl! Mitch and Kathryn had booked a sitter so that the grown-ups could get out and imbibe with my dad at a handful of Portland’s best breweries. First though, gifts! Mitch and I went in together to up my dad’s Growler Game.
And a couple of quick pics, before we kissed the little ones good-bye and hailed our extra-large Lyft.
We started our journey at Von Ebert Brewing, where the tots were hot, the spinach dip was rich, and the Hefeweizen was extra-wheaty.
From Von Ebert’s we walked over to Deschutes where the wait for a table was over an hour, so we trekked on…
And landed at Bridgeport, where we chowed down on pot pie paired with perfect IPA’s.
We grabbed another Lyft after dinner and went to Breakside Brewery for…more beer! Dessert was a glass of Salted Caramel Stout and a nibble of dark chocolate. We rolled ourselves out of there and headed home to our girls, full and happy and a little bit loopy. My dad knows how to party.
Happiest of Birthdays, Dad. May this be a year of new Ales, no ails, and abundant joy.
