Dad's birthday shindigs!

Went home for Easter to celebrate dad's 60th birthday.

We came home on the Thursday afternoon and spent the next couple of days cooking, and picking birch branches...

Let me back up a bit there. The branches were to make bird's nests to put painted eggs, mini-daffodils and feathers in for table decorations at the party. So Joanna, Mike and I went for a walk in the forrest (well - it's a very small forrest; but I remember it as being massive...) to find some. We should probably have thought of the fact that birches don't have hanging branches low enough in forrests... d'oh! Finally found some 3 minutes from the house instead. Very inconspicuously cut branches off and shoved them into a bag...

Anyway. The party was on Easter Saturday and we had 48 people there. Eek! Mostly family (my cousins have many kids!) and some friends of the family. It was really nice to see people I've not seen in years.

Dad had a wonderful time (he says! ;) ), so a great big huge thanks to everyone who helped us make it such a lovely day.