A wonderful Christmas and 50 years behind me

You get to celebrate Christmas every year, but you only get these major milestones for birthdays every decade.  I was born on Christmas day (about 9:30 that night) and yesterday I managed to hit my 50th birthday.  I am healthy and active enough that the number is really something positive, an accomplishment of sorts.

As so many of the Park City locals do, Julie and I start every Christmas morning with a trip to the ski slopes.  The snow still sucks (more on that another day) but it was as sunny as it ever gets. This year we opted for Deer Valley and by going out early, there are almost no crowds.

We started skiing with our friends Greg and Miriam, with the idea of catching up with others as the morning went on.

We found our next door neighbors, Monty, Sally and Hannah.  This was our first chance to ski with Hannah, who is six years old.  Too bad there aren't any black diamond slopes open.  She was bombing down the blue slopes in complete control! 

I was happy to see Julie get back up from this pose.

Here we have Julie, Hannah, and I. Please note my lovely attire.  It is a combination of some new, hideous blue plaid pants and a 20+ year old Patagonia jacket. It's almost time to retire the jacket, but I figured on a day that I was celebrating a birthday that gets me an AARP card, I should wear something that has survived remarkably well and longer than anyone would expect.  A good omen!  The pants were chosen because they are great for finding me anywhere on the slopes.

We came back to the house after lunch, opened presents, and started prepping for our dinner party. It was quite the busy afternoon. Julie gave me an iPad 2.  She loves hers and decided it was wrong for a gadget-person like me not to have a tablet.

To start the party, I am enjoying some wine in the glass my cousin Sara sent me for Christmas.  In honor of my North Carolina roots, it is a Mason Jar with a sturdy stem.  Nothing quite like a bit of red neck wine.

While she couldn't stay up late enough to join us for dessert, Hannah came over to visit and wish me a happy birthday.  She's explaining a drawing she made to Julie and Sally.

We were dressed a bit festively, but somehow we got completely outclassed by Hannah, who decided that her new gown was appropriate for the visit next door.

For dinner, we were joined by Greg and Miriam, Rob and Theresa, and Jim and Kathy.  Julie put on quite the fest!  We had roasted red pepper soup, beef tenderloin, scalloped potatoes, green beans with onions and mushrooms, and a salad.

This is one of the three desserts we had, a carrot cake.  We also had a raspberry cream pie and a flourless chocolate torte.  I am pretty sure they were all low calorie.  NOT!  Isn't Julie beautiful?

Joining us for dessert was the Benson clan.  Bill and Loris had their son and daughter in town, with a fiance' and a son-in-law to make a total of six.  Loris and Julie did a great job of coordinating dinners and the timing was perfect for them to drive up the hill and join us.

It was a wonderful day!  You just can't beat the holidays or a birthday spent with close friends.  The weather was nice.  The food was excellent.  The gathering was fun and festive.  

Then there is the cleanup.  I snapped a quick shot before I started filling the recycle bin. Oops.

On to decade number 6!