Juicebeats' 30th Birthday
Hello friends. Mrs. Juicebeats here.
You didn't read that incorrectly. I'm Staci, Jason's wife, and I have taken over his blog to tell you about an amazing weekend that we had celebrating this awesome husband, father, photographer, and producer.
It's kind of a rule of thumb in our household that a birthday is never only one day, so I saw to it that Jason had a fun-filled weekend planned without having to think about it himself. His birthday celebration began on Friday when we went to Brazeiros with his family. If you've never been to this restaurant, it is quite the experience. Basically, you start off with a delicious salad bar filled to the brim with everything from fresh cheeses to artichokes to pasta salad. Jason always enjoys the fresh grated Parmesan atop the fluffy cheese biscuits served at the table. Once the real part of the meal begins, you are given a card with a red side--for stop--and a green side--for go--in order to signal to the servers whether you want to continue eating the varied and tasty assortments of meats they carve tableside. The Brazilian steakhouse has been a favorite of ours since it opened in Knoxville, but it was a particularly special experience this evening to dine with his aunt and uncle, grandmother, two cousins, godmother, parents, and in-laws (my parents); of course, baby Jaden and I were also in attendance. The food was great, but the company was even better. We ended the night with their delicious chocolate mousse cake, compliments of the house as a birthday treat for Jay.
Saturday started with a delicious breakfast--if I do say so myself--made by yours truly for my hubs on his special day. Last year, we started a new tradition that is so true to who we are as fun loving adults...playing laser tag. It was off to Laser Quest for us and a couple of friends and family members that afternoon to really get the good times going. We played one game and then spent some time shopping before finishing out our last two games. What Jason would tell you about this experience is that I was the loudest person in the arena during play and that he dominated every game. What I would tell you is that he is a camper, but we won't mince words since this is, after all, a post celebrating him. His reign as laser tag king, sadly, continues another year.
What Jason didn't know about Saturday, and that I had planned for a month, was a surprise party for him at Barley's downtown with all of his friends. As I checked the RSVP list repeatedly over the past few weeks, I could not believe how sweet his friends were to signal that, yes, they would be in attendance despite the distances some would have to travel to be here. He had friends and family in attendance from Huntsville, Nashville, Memphis, and Atlanta. Some of his best friends from high school who live locally even showed up at Barley's. After lying to my husband for weeks about the fact that none of his friends could make it for his birthday due to other obligations, the moment finally arrived to show him just how much everyone actually cared. As he walked into the room, a look of utter shock and complete surprise overtook his face, and I felt thrilled that all of my planning and deceit had actually paid off. The gluttony took over; we stuffed our faces with some of the best pizza in town and prepared for the rest of the evening.
Of course, there was no other place we would rather go to cap off Juicebeats' 30th birthday than Latitude 35, our favorite spot, especially significant as a place of celebration to us (as we spent the evening after our wedding there). We danced (including a new dance move Jason invented called the skateboarder) ; we sang; we laughed (at each other and others), and we all considered ourselves lucky to have such an amazing friend to celebrate. Just as he felt so blessed to have friends and family take the time to honor him this weekend, I know we all feel just as blessed to have him in our lives.
Mrs. Juicebeats
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