Asian Star Smorgasbord

Mom/Margie's 80th birthday was coming up, and it was Wendy's idea for the six siblings and spouses to get together for a birthday dinner celebration- sans kids, just the grownups. Wendy was also the one who traveled the furthest (4+ hours, but she had a longer visit with the folks staying over at their house, and stopped to see kids and grandbabies). Friday, November 11 was the date that seemed to work out for everyone. Originally, Shane and Alicia had been scheduled to move that day, but it got bumped. 

With the need for gluten-free gourmet (Derek has now joined Dad/Lamar, Scott and Wendy) Asian Star was mentioned as a good choice. Scott is well known there (the staff know him by name, "Scotty") and arranged for a reservation for the family (13, as Rick was on a cruise and unable to attend).  Scott also had recommendations for the menu:

All Gluten Free, 1 of each:

Walnut chicken 

Walnut Shrimp 

Broccoli Beef 

Cashew Chicken 

Tangerine chicken 

Veggie stir fry/chicken

Ham fried rice 

2 Pon Pon chicken  (Not gluten Free)

9 dishes for 13 people

Jen (no dietary concerns, just finicky eating habits) and Chris did end up needing their own specialized meals, but everyone else thought Scott's recommendations were good, and it was served up family style, with everyone just taking a little bit of whatever looked good.

Due to the table seating, conversation among everyone was difficult, but the bottom half of the table talk consisted of Grayson and Scott comparing Peloton trainers, discussions of the Great British Baking Show, home improvement conversations and Tesla talk. 

The folks usually pick up the check for dinners out, but as it was Mom's birthday, this was split between the six siblings. Scott paid in full and then the others reimbursed him via Venmo.  Just a "did you know" moment ... Venmo was first brought up by Scott in an email sent July 2015. Looks like Jen's family was the last one to join (Dec2016). 

There was some teasing as Wendy pulled out an actual camera (those are still in use? Jen still uses a dedicated video camera for the boy's basketball games) and one of the waitresses snapped a picture, and then took another with Chris's phone. 

A smaller group went out to dinner at Asian Star back in 2014, that was also for Mom/Margie's birthday! 

Red Robin ... on Repeat

 

Red Robin has been one of the classic Westra gathering grounds for years now. In October, Wendy and a couple of kids came up to see Jase and Ellen during the school's fall break. While they were here, there was visiting with cousins and the folks as well.  Mom/Margie mentioned a lunch or dinner outing with the Jensen crew, and invited Jen and any of the boys that could make it. Then Shane's family joined too. Red Robin was the destination, Friday, October 14, 2022 was the day. 5:15 was the time. Shane's family made it there first, and got the dirty dozen on the wait list. The Blackham bunch (Jen, Landon and Coop) were a little late as always (Blackham standard time) but got there just in time to switch around a few boxes (what Mom/Margie had for Jen, Jen had some pears/veggies and clothes for others to look through) before our group was called. 

As we went to sit, Mom/Margie called for all the girls to come gossip at one end, and the men met at the other end. They brought out some fries to start everyone off (ones fried in different oil for the g/f crew). Strawberry lemonade was a favorite drink of many. Mom and Jen split some Fish&Chips (Jen ALWAYS gets that) and then there were the assortment of burgers and salads for the rest of the crew. Sweet potato fries were substituted for some, and an order of cheese sticks was devoured. Dad/Lamar got the check (thanks!)

The back room seems to be the place to be when we have a larger group.  Here are a few other Red Robin Westra memories ... although the picture proof is likely only a small number of the actual visits over the years. 

2017 (see the blog post about this visit HERE)

 ..."just the girls" also from 2017

... another "Westra Women" in 2018

A smaller group gathering (not in the back room) in 2014 (October)...

Earlier in  2014 (July), but a slightly different crew - Baby Layla in both!

Red Robin ... food, and family memories!

Red Robin ... YUM

Shane and Adria were in town from California ... doing a little visiting, then flying out and taking the folks with them back for a California visit. But while they were here, we had a group get-together. We were able to get seated in the back room and had it almost all to ourselves. Landon had just returned from his mission in February, so it was the first time he'd been able to see many in the extended family. Keaton was so cute entertaining D&D's girls with snapchat filters ...

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A post shared by JenB (@jenblackham) on Apr 9, 2017 at 2:50pm PDT

... and the classic picture of Dad in Mom's glasses! He had to see to pay the bill!

Dinners Out

(This post will be backdated to November 2014)

With Mom/Margie and Dad/LaMar's annual Christmas gift of "dinners out" with the kids, there were likely many times different families got together to chat and eat throughout 2014. Often when an outing was suggested by one couple, others were invited too. Come if you can. Pictures help preserve those gatherings into memory! Take pictures! More photos were found after this post originally went up (and out in email) so it has been updated.

McGraths in May

Here, it was October 30 - notice the skeleton shirt on Cooper. Red Robin ... Yum.

Yeah to Gray for thinking to grab a photo!

In addition to dinner, D&D were also bringing out Mom and Dad's new cell phone. Landon was working up that way, so he stopped on the way home from work (and then went over to Grandma and Grandpa's house afterward and help get the new phone connected to their home network). Jen couldn't make it, needing to get Callahan and Keaton to/from basketball, but Gray and the two little boys went out. Jen sent the game "Spot It" with them, and Mom said that was a good activity while waiting for food and for the cousins to interact.

There had been another Red Robin gathering in July (Shane&Alicia, Derek&Danielle, Mom&Dad and Jen ... the rest of the Blackhams were in Seattle). Originally no pictures were found, but then a photo popped up (see that post here). 

Not long after that, there was another "come one come all" call for Mom/Margie's birthday.

Mom and Dad had gone out Wednesday night to McGrath's with her siblings to celebrate her birthday. Thursday, Scott and Amy took the folks out to lunch. Friday was out to Blue Lemon (not so much Mom's birthday as Layla's sealing/blessing, see that picture below). So, Jen suggested Saturday. Wendy was in town, and Chris said he and Kim could come. 

Blue Lemon - November 2014

Westras I spy ... D&Ds family (obviously), LaMar, McKenna, Scott, Kim, Chris, Wendy, Mom, Shane and Alicia. Is that Amy next to Scott (behind Dad/Derek)?

Checking old emails and journal entries ... WHERE we went wasn't recorded. 

Asian Star seems to stick in my mind. 

 

Golden Anniversary

50th Wedding Anniversary!!

Mom and Dad's 50th Wedding Anniversary is on June 29th. We decided months ago to celebrate this special occasion a couple of weeks early since the Jensens in town this weekend. It also worked out well for Chris's wedding this weekend too. Mom suggested a simple dinner out with the family. So mom and dad and all of us kids and mom's brother and sister all came to celebrate this wonderful occasion. Jen made up a slide show video of pictures through the years and Wendy had prepared a Photo History Book she been working on for the past year.

 

 

The book turned out really nice. 

It is 12X12 and came to 313 pages. 

Here are some sample pages:

 

 

Here's the letter from Wendy ~

Dear Mom and Dad:
A year ago I felt impressed to begin work on a photo book that would include pictures and memorabilia from your life and our family. I wanted to put this together as a gift for your 50th Wedding Anniversary. That is what started the big project of gathering photos, slides, negatives, and other memorabilia to be digitally scanned as well as researching dates and names and editing pictures! I wanted to include as many pictures as I could find from these past fifty years so that they could all be preserved in one place. I realized halfway through this project, however, that I had too many pictures for just one book (and not enough time) to give justice to all 50 years.

So in order to break it down into a more manageable project, I decided that this book would focus on the first 20 years of our family with pictures and details as well as pictures and histories from your growing up years. (Getting you to start on your personal histories was an added benefit!) I figured I could do another book (or two) later focusing on the rest of the years. But I didn't like the idea of ending this book in 1982 and so I decided to add one or two pages of pictures from each year after that to bring it up to the present year, so that it does still cover all 50 years. I hope to make another book later on focusing on the next twenty years and then another which will bring us up to the current date.

I have to admit that this project has been extremely overwhelming and time-consuming but I have learned so much about our family and have been filled with incredible gratitude as I have developed a deeper understanding of how truly blessed I am to have been born into such a wonderful family! I have recalled so many experiences and blessings that I had not thought about for years!  

I would just like to express my gratitude for our wonderful upbringing! You have been amazing parents to all of us and continue to be wonderful parents and grandparents. We are privileged to have been born into such a home as this! I just hope we can live up to our privileges and continue to pass on these wonderful blessings to our own children. I hope you enjoy this keepsake of our family! All of the kids also went in on this book with me, so it is from ALL of us! 

 We love you! 

Wendy

Join us at Johnny's

It started out as a few families attempting to get together for February birthdays. Let the emails begin ...

• Jen: We should really have a big Westra Side birthday bash, don't you think?
• Mom: Derek has invited us and Danielle's family over Sat. evening for cake and ice cream for her birthday--kind of a surprise, so far. I told him that Chris and boys would be over and we'd maybe be tending your boys. We could have D & D over to dinner the next day or something--or have them join us if we take you out Fri. night. We could take them too for her birthday.
• Derek: I think it would be fun to do a dinner Friday night -- I think three nights this weekend might be a little much (as far as the Westra bash goes) since we'd be doing something Friday, Saturday and Sunday -- but we're fine with whatever. Let me know what you want to do. But if we did Friday with Westras and Saturday with Taylors, that would work out.
• Mom: Sounds like Derek would like us all to go out to dinner together Friday night. We could still do cake and ice cream on Sun.
• Jen: Everyone could come over to our house after dinner for cake and ice cream and to sing Happy Birthday the birthday people are there ...
• Mom: Scott and Amy, Friday night Sh & A, D & D, J and G, and we are going out to dinner at 6:30 at Carinos to celebrate Danielle's birthday--our treat. Can you two join us?
• Jen: I haven't run this by my boys yet, but we have had Landon and Callahan tending for us for a while now. If SH&A wanted to come out and leave the girls here, Carinos is only a minute away ...
• Shane: That would work for us if it's okay with your boys. Rella would be in heaven...
• Mom: Scott and Amy said they can make it. We'll see everyone at Carinos in Jordan Landing at 6:30 on Friday, with ice cream and cake at Jen's afterwards. So that will be 10 of us. Jen, you know the place best. Do you want to call and see if they will take reservations for 10 for our little birthday party, so we don't have to wait, or should I do it? Shane arrived home late last night from Oklahoma City. He heads to Austin, Texas next week. We went to Grandma's last night since we are busy Fri. and Sat. again this weekend. Chris and Conner and Cayson are coming for dinner Sat. and to sleep over. 
• Mom: We will go at 6 tonight to get our name on the list, so the rest of you won't have to wait.

Johnny Carinos, yummy Italian food . Unfortunatly, this Jordan Landing location would close down in 2018. We know what Jen had ... chicken alfredo. Even without the picture proof, you should know that ... that's about the only thing on the menu that she will eat. They did have a little gluten-free menu for Scott and Dad.

After the eating, a few families headed to the Blackham home (just a minute away) for some cake ... 

Callahan's 11th birthday.

Birthday Limo and Family Dinner

While we didn't get the whole Westra clan together for Jen's 36th birthday, Mom/Dad and the younger brothers made it for dinner ... and a ride there in a limo! Grayson arranged it all as a surprise. Here's Jen's journal entry from the day:

November 10 (Friday) Happy birthday to me.  Gray sent an e-card a two separate flower arrangements.  VT dropped off a gift, RS dropped off a card, Mom called. Then a third arrangement was delivered (3x12=36). The babysitter showed up at 6:00 as scheduled ... but no Grayson. Not a huge surprise, I knew he was planning something and it was taking longer then anticipated. Olivia had let the cat out of the bag a little, calling to wish me a happy birthday saying sorry she couldn’t come tonight (letting me know that it was a group gathering). Gray finally showed up around 7:00, with a huge limousine.  Inside were Clay and Courtney, my parents, Shane, Alicia and baby Rella, and Derek and Danielle. We drove to Ruby River for dinner, then dropped everyone off. Gray wasn’t overly impressed with the limo service, the ride was a bit jerky (Gray started to get a little carsick), one of the TVs didn’t work, it had a “Vegas” smell, and the driver didn’t know much about the controls (to heat or cool things down). Gray also gave me a new video-recorder as a gift.