Ryan's B-Day

Since Ryan's Lost birthday last year was such a hit, Chris and I were hemming and hawing over what to do this year. We discovered that it's not a smart move to pull out all the stops early on, because anything you do henceforth will just be lame.

So Sarah came through with the win this year. She discovered that some singer Ryan loves happened to be playing a small concert at Angel's stadium before a game. And it turns out that, lucky enough for us, Ryan had been having an inkling to go to a baseball game.

Love it when things like that work out.

Our first picture is of our lunch- Sarah convinced us to go vegetarian for the day, and, no, that is not real chicken. But it was good faux chicken. And apparently good for us to boot. The chili however was lacking. No healthy chili for me!

Two TGO's, lunching it veggie style.

And off to Angel's stadium! To pose in front of Mickey!

Pretty quiet game. Nothing happened till around the eighth inning.

We were far more into taking pictures and egging on the beach ball that kept making its way onto the field. Oh! And we cheered so loud when the wave went around the stadium three times!

How the OSF opens a birthday gift: A story in pictures.

The Blue Bayou & Chris' Birthday

twenty-five

So the big 2-5 came and started with a trip to La Jolla to meet up with Chris' friends from high school (Chris, Kris, and their wives- everyone in that group is named Chris). The OSF so graciously bought me lunch at Subway and even let me get a 79 cent coke on the way home- because it was my birthday of course. He's so thoughtful that way!

We had to leave the beach after an hour and a half to come home and get ready for the shindig at the girls' apartment. Ry brought the Wii over again, in anticipation of having a crazy vide game party like last year, but no one really got into it until the end of the night. We started off with a little Demetri Martin on DVD, followed by much snacking on Jenafer's and my part, and finally getting Jen's baby barbecue pictures on a DVD for her.

The other Chris' and their wives showed up a bit later. Mel's pregnant, too, so the conversation immediately went to babies. And with Jessica there with Lucy and Gwen, everyone was a little baby happy. Somehow Chris Holtz ended up carrying Lucy around because she'd cry with anyone else, despite her general fear of boys. Maybe she liked being so close to the ceiling when he had her. Different view and all. ;)

We had Britt's homemade ice cream (she attempted to make Moose Tracks!), and I got fun presents (scrapbooking supplies, woot!) and it was just an all around good time. I like it when all my friends gather together and get to meet each other.

All in all we had Jen and Justin, Jessica, Gwen, and Lucy, Chris and Mel, Kris and Becky, Dan Blair, Boy Jordan (River), Colleen for a bit, Brittany, Jen, Ryan, and Chris (mine). Brian stopped by for literally ten seconds after his show. After that we spent the rest of the night playing Mario Party until Kris and Becky had to go.

And, as usual with my birthday, the weekend was only beginning....

Birthday Poem

By Glen Aubrey

(AKA- Justin's dad/my boss/author of two published poetry books)

08-08-09

Jordan, I hope you can endure this:

Unfold the banners!

Strike up the band!

Sound every trumpet

Throughout the land!

This is your birthday!

Celebrate tall,

Go have a party,

Shout, one and all,

“Hap-, happy birthday

Jordan, to you!”

Savor your moment,

Live in it, too!

Sorry for the doggerel. But I sure wish you a wonderful day. We will celebrate a little later this month with vast amounts of salad and soup at Olive Garden.

G

Awwww... thanks, Glen!

twenty-four

Last day.

Hello, August

My favorite month is here. August. It just flows off the tongue so well, doesn't it?

August is my birthday month, so perhaps I'm a bit prejudiced, because other than birthday festivities, there really isn't a lot going on.

But maybe that's why it's so nice. The season's wrapping up and, while we've still got warm weather and the feel of summer all around, the craziness of activities and vacations starts winding down into a nice, final month of relaxation.

Also it's my birthday. Don't forget that.

Happy Birthday, Ryan!!!

Happy birthday to the best TGO ever!

And now a word from Lea Michele:

Lost

Ryan's Lost surprise extravaganza turned out to be a big hit. Chris and Andy really worked to pull off the perfect Lost party, complete with posters of Ryan as a cast member of Lost, Quarantine signs, Dharma labels on the sodas and beers, and a great photo booth backdrop. That OSF is so talented, I tell you.

Jenna doesn't know what to do on the island!

Ryan's just happy he's got Sarah to keep him company on the island.

Sorry, Ben, no cell phone reception on the island.

Two TGO's stuck on the island! Track 15 for sure!

We even managed to keep it a surprise, so Ryan was a little dumbfounded when he opened the door to find his friends and family waiting for him in what looked like the Lost wilderness island. Of course, it helped that he was just a wee bit tipsy from the fake out bar trip that Beth took him on. 

Read Ryan's thoughts on his surprise party here!

Nine.

In case anyone had forgotten, this is what being nine looks like:

Apparently nine is the age where you start liking to go on photo shoots, too. Thanks, Gwen, my favorite nine-year-old. I had fun, too. ;)

Dear little brother, on your 22nd birthday:

So, we don't really hang out or anything anymore.

But I remember when we used to be best friends. Rollerblading up and down the sidewalk, biking around the block to see if we could get away with it. Panning for gold in the driveway. (Boy was that stupid.) Watching Dad build us a two story playhouse, and then spending all day every day playing house in it. I would make you go fetch berries and leaves for our dinner while I swept the floor and "washed" the dishes. Playing countless games of Marco Polo in the pool, or throwing the sinking sticks closer and closer to the 9 foot mark to see who was gutsy enough to dive down that far. Throwing things over the fence into the neighbor's yard and then hiding when their stupid dog started barking. Going over to Melissa and Eric's every night they were visiting their grandmother across the street, and playing our made-up hide and seek version... complete with Eric's stupid poking stick that he'd jab into suspicious hiding spots until we yelled.

Anyway, you're 22 now and that's pretty old. And I kind of feel bad that I really don't have many memories of you from the last ten years or so. I kind of remember you were starting to get annoying around age 12. And I remember telling you that I wasn't speaking to you ever again until you apologized for whatever you'd done to me. We went a whole two weeks like that, until you finally begged me to talk to you again. Sorry about that- I was kind of a brat back then. And I'm sure you were, too, but I should have been a better big sister about it.

Anyway, that's really the last thing I remember about you being young. Because then you opted to go to public school, and for the first time we weren't all together in one place every day. I kind of remember dropping you off at Granite Hills on my way to college classes, but they were pretty quiet four minute trips.

So it kind of sucks that we don't have much of a relationship anymore. Hopefully we can change that in the years to come. I feel pretty optimistic after our little conversation texts today, since you usually ignore my texts or calls. Must have been a sucky birthday for you to keep texting with me for half an hour. But I'm kind of glad you had the time.

Now can you please just tell me what you would like as a present?

Love, your big sis.

(Oh, yeah. Rockin' the highlighter colors in the late 80's.)

November 22, In which we scavenger hunt it up at the mall

There was a scavenger hunt to commemorate Jared's 25th birthday. Three teams of four were set loose in Grossmont Center, armed with cell phones, cameras, and a couple dollars each, in the hopes of being the first team back to Shakey's with everything on the list. 

It was awesome. Except Jared is a dirty cheater. And that's all I'll say on the matter. 

Team Jordan: Girl Jordan, Liz, Dan Blair, Emo, and Boy Jordan

The girls at Shakey's

The security guards at Target were great at playing along with the instructions to, "Get an on-duty Target security guard to sign your bicep."

This guy was great for telling us what Jared's team ordered for the task, "Buy Jared's favorite Grossmont Center dessert."

A-G-O

"Dress up in crazy clothes."

"Challenge a stranger to a race." After Boy Jordan beat this little girl, he pumped his fists into the air, and when we questioned why he didn't let her win, his response was, "I can't let a girl beat me!"

"Pose with a manequin."

"Build a pyramid in a grassy knoll."

Good times with those camp people, I tell you. Good times.

Birthday Week Part Three: And the winner is...

Jessica the Best!

(And why not? That's what Jessica says.)

So here's some stuff about the birthday girl:

I specifically remember one of the first times I ever talked to Jessica. We were up at Pine Valley for college retreat, but most of us were just visiting because we didn't want to pay the money to actually stay there. And I was going back and forth between the game room and Worthington Hall, Pine Valley's chapel, trying to get someone to do some late night activity. And Jess and Mikey were in Worthington Hall while Mikey was packing up his music stuff, but now that I think about it they might have been doing a little macking on each other, too. I was just too young and naive to catch on to that back then.

Isn't that a great story?

Anyway, so since then Jess has been an inseparable part of this here group. (See group shot, circa 2005, below.)

Then, in 2006, Jessica married that Mikey kid. It was a fun wedding. We laughed, we cried, we danced, and the boys wrote dirty things on Mikey's car. Good times.

Jessica really loves her some Mikey. Mike seems to like it, too.

Here's Jessica sporting the July 17, 2007 Disneyland freaking 50th anniversary hat. Remember how I said on Jesse's post that we went there accidentally that day? True story. It was a long day in Disneyland and California Adventures, as you can see:

On that same trip, we hit up Hollywood and found this amazing store called the Love Sac. We crashed there for about an hour, watched Napoleon Dynamite, and took pictures. What a fun store.

Jessica has been an awesome friend these last few years. Whether it's boy talk or opening her house for movie nights/game nights/St. Patrick's Day parties or having cute babies and letting us hold them for an hour at a time, Jess has got it covered.

Happy birthday, Jessica!

(Sorry it's so late!)