Alan's 50th Birthday... Sheila went all out for my 50th birthday and surprised me by inviting 7 of my dear friends and my brother to Colorado for a birthday weekend in early April. Click to jump ahead to: Surprise Lunch at the Rio Grande in Boulder and Dinner at Riffs Snowmobiling near Grand Lake and Rocky Mountain National Park Tubing at the Fraser Tubing Hill Dinner Party back at Home Dinner and Enigma Room on Actual Birthday   Sheila pulled off this surprise a little over 2 weeks before my actual birthday so I was completely taken in by the surprise which started with Crhis McCarley showing up at my office with a story about how he was in town for a conference. He then took me to lunch in downtown Boulder where I was shocked to see someone whoe looked like Gene Slape talking to someone who looked just like Mario Riveron, hey.... And so joined also by Harry Chow, Kevin Lewis and Kevin Barrett we enjoyed the afternooon in Boulder with mind blown. Later joined by Jason Robertson and my brother Aaron we enjoyed dinner at Riffs in Boulder.     The next day the group ventured up for a Snowmobiling adventure and it did turn into an adventure. First, my brother collided with Chris rendering his machine temporarily inoperable until with the help of Google we figured out the problem. Then I got a little to carried away and stuck in a tree well off the beaten path where I waited for 30 minutes before the others found me. Thanks to the hardwork of everyone, particular Chris and Jason, we finally freed the machine. It was the last day of the season for the rental outfitters who did not know show mercy when it came to charging us late fees and damages. Figuring out how to fix Aaron's snowmobile. Turns out the machine will start, but not run if the throttle plate is not closed all the way and since the impact knocked the throttle assembly askew forcing extra tension on the throttle cable. A quick adjustment and we were finally on the way again.   Unfortunately, not too long later, we spent a long time digging out the skis and getting this snowmobile free. The snow around the front of the machine was 4 or 5 feet deep and it just kept sinking in further.     The next day we decided to something where collisions were signficantly less costly - tubing. Below is a shot of the group. From left to right: Kevin Barrett, Harry Chow, Alan, Aaron Gil, Chris McCarely, Gene Slape, Mario Riveron, Kevin Lewis and Jason Roberston.Scottsdale at the ... Mountain Goats spotted on the way home...     Back down at home, Sheila put on a wonderful Birthday Dinner Party for us all...   Two weeks and a few days later another local surprise Birthday Party was organized by Sheila. Featuring custom T-Shirts (white over 50, black under 50) we enjoyed dinner at Brasserie Ten Ten followed by the challenge of solving and gettinog out of the Enigma Escape Room. The over 50 group finished 10 mintues behind the under 50 group, but I later learned we had the harder room with a total solution rate of less than 30% where the other room had a success rate of over 50%. So there.

Thanks to everyone who contributed photos, especially Jason! And thanks to my amazing wife who set the bar for a 50th birthday pretty darn high!