Love Life: The Other Larkin

Cole and I had a wonderful time celebrating our dear friend Brian Larkin's 30th birthday the other night. Our little Tavian Larkin James is named after Brian, and we were so happy we got to be part of the occasion. The night was amazing, full of large quantities of delicious food, and great friends. It was a dinner party at the seminarians house in Denver (one of the most beautiful houses ever), and we had to be a bit creative because it started at 6, while Tavian goes to bed at 7. Normally it would have been easy to just say we couldn't make it, but I'm so happy that Cole and I made it work. We brought Tavian's playpen and since he is such a rockstar nighttime sleeper, we just set it up in a bedroom and put him down for the night. It worked out perfectly!
When I say there was yummy food, it is an understatement. One of the priests that lives with Brian in the house decided to cook him an Italian feast. There was a beautiful table set up outside with candles and twinkle lights, an endless supply of wine and beer, even a menu written in Italian detailing the many foods we would be eating. Did I mention that he was cooking for days and that everything, even the noodles themselves were made from scratch??? Yeah, it couldn't have been more authentic if I was actually in Italy! I guess this priest had studied in Italy and had spent a good deal of time learning to cook Italian. The evening was perfect, and it was also the perfect way to honor such a dear friend. We all gave him birthday toasts at the end of the night, but of course I didn't end up saying everything that I would have liked to. Oh well, he knows I love him :) He has made such a profound impact on our lives, and I know he will continue to do so.
The only problem with the evening is that Cole wasn't feeling well to his stomach. He ended up going and laying down in the same room Tavian was in for the majority of the night, which unfortunately means he missed out on the amazing food! I took a picture of the menu, just so everyone could see that I wasn't exagerating about how much food we were served (yes, there were "waiters" serving us), but looking back I really should have taken pictures of the food itself. It truly was that amazing!