Amanda and Ben and I SNUCK over to Missouri yesterday to surprise Stephanie at a gathering of about 30 of her friends at a restaurant to celebrate her 21st birthday.  It was Amanda’s idea and crafted by her and her partner in crime Mel Podry, one of Steph’s good friends in Missouri.  And the two of them couldn’t have done it any better.  It was a complete success and we all had a great time!

But there were just a few problems for me to deal with…..one, it was about 10 hours of driving (there and back so Ben would not miss school or Amanda work) and I would be doing most of it (in fact I drove all the way); two, I had tripped over a cooler in the dark int he kitchen the night before and wrenched my already injured back, and then of course three, I am the DAD, and I was just not interested in letting my little girl turn 21.

Now my wife has a lot of problems, and I certainly qualify as one of them and perhaps even the biggest one, but she is good at handling me in situations like these.  She just very patiently feeds me the truth.  So in truth I must confess that Stephanie has turned out pretty dang well.  She is beautiful she is smart, she is funny, and she really has exceeded my expectations of what a daughter could and should be.  Seeing her at any time is a blessing to me, and now she will be taking tests (she has one in the morning) and then will head home for break.  Her friends are all amazing, and we love seeing them.  It was a pretty great time.

So Happy Birthday Steph!  It was great to be with you at the Trailhead Brewing Company on your 21st birthday, and being a college student, to get to see you have what I am sure is the first beer you have ever had……..bwhahahahahaha!!!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+