Sweet 16

Yesterday was our sixteenth 7th. Although we didn’t continue our tradition of visiting a new restaurant, we ate the yummiest made-with-love pizza in town. And it isn’t always in town – it’s made only by request when my favorite chef, Gruffalo, is here. My dad came to Charlotte after spending a long weekend in Blowing Rock, and Ashley and Andrew invited us over to share him and his homemade pizzas.

We heard stories about my parents’ $1,000 seven week cross country trip that they took over thirty years ago, and we talked about all of the wild animals that they have encountered on their back porch lately (like the squirrel my mom had to dispose of yesterday, the copperhead snake that my dad recently shot, and the raccoon that their cat had chased up a tree). It was a good night, indeed. Dad didn’t eat a thing, but I think I ate enough for the two of us: margherita pizza, veggie pizza, cheese pizza, oreos, and a root beer flavored Italian ice. Woah.

Happy sweet 16, Ryan!