Surprisingly enough, the birthday barbecue last night went off without a hitch.

People in attendance:

• Grandma and Grandpa (Dad’s parents)
• Granddad (Mom’s father)
• Tori (sister)
• Tai (sister) and Dan (Tai’s fiancee)
• Mom and Dad
• Jenn
• Dan and Aggie (Jenn’s parents)

Dad cooked up some burgers on the grill and we had chips, dip, and various fruit/vegetable salads. We also had a Grand Marnier chocolate cake (my favorite) from JaCiva’s, a local chocolatier, courtesy of Jenn. Mom got me some Monsters, Inc. plates, napkins, and tablecloths, which were fun. People seemed to get along pretty well and there was no drunken brawling, so I would consider it a success.

This was actually the first event that my parents and Jenn’s parents have spent any time together at. They seemed to get along rather well, especially our fathers, who talked about model trains and remote control HumVees most of the night.

The gifts were plentiful and all were cool (which is a rarity… You know how you usually get that one gift and you’re speechless because it wasn’t remotely anything you wanted? That didn’t happen.). I got:

• From Tori, a funky zebra puppet that I can torment my kitty Xev with; and a Survivor board game that looks like quite a lot of fun
• From Tai, an electronic meat thermometer fork (I barbecue a lot, so that’ll be handy)
• From Dad’s parents, a check (you can always use money); and a windchime that has hung in their kitchen for, well, my entire lifetime as far as I know… very cool, since it totally reminds me of them
• From Jenn’s parents, a small refrigerator/freezer to go under my desk at work
• From my parents, a strategy guide for Medal of Honor: Frontline; a big box of Crest Whitestrips (is that a hint?); and… a small refrigerator/freezer to go under my desk at work

Yes, that means I have two refrigerators. Great minds think alike, eh? Interestingly enough, the two are actually identical items with different brands attached to them. Too funny. So I’ve got one plugged in here at work now doing its thing and the other will get returned for… well, I don’t know yet. I’ve gotta think about what I want instead. Maybe some binoculars or a digital camera. I’m not sure how much the fridges cost.

All in all, a rather successful celebration. Tonight Jenn and I will have dinner at Veritable Quandary downtown and then see Phantom of the Opera. I’m looking forward to a brilliant evening.