PERRY HALL, MARYLAND

Yesterday brought another trip to Perry Hall to celebrate the second birthday of our grandson, Ian Benjamin. The Box knows the way by now, so we were pretty much on autopilot. As you can see from the photo, the Box had a mind of its own when it came to parking.

We got there early enough to help in the preparations a little bit. Susanne and Matt made little dough-wrapped wieners and got them ready for the oven.

There must have been some vanishing agent mixed into the dough, because they disappeared a few minutes after everyone had arrived, along with the cheese and dips. Matt put some wine out to cool in the last little pile of snow left on his deck.

Ian awoke cheerful from his nap. Soon his little friends and their 30-something parents began to arrive, and the fun began. This culminated in the singing of "Happy Birthday" and the blowing out of the candles.

Next came the opening of gifts (or was it the other way around?). A highlight was one of the little tykes practicing his decoding skills on a "non-functioning" alarm system, only to discover the then-and-still-unknown combination that sounded a loud alarm. Fortunately, no fire or police arrived to see what the trouble was. This kid will be a computer whiz in no time!

At some point in the festivities, the Box became a pizza delivery van as we went to pick up a load of pizzas for the still-ravenous crowd to consume. Who knew five pizzas would be so heavy? I was able to climb Mt. Everest, also known as Matt and Marylee's front steps, with the cheesy wonders but had to ring the bell to get the door open!

As bedtimes began to roll around, the crowd began to dwindle, so Susanne and I left, too, heading home with only a minor stop at Maple Donuts north of York. For breakfast, you know.

The disappearing wieners, captured before they vanished.

Matt's friend Mark and his son Luca.

James and Matt enjoy a laugh.

Lauren directs the coloring activity

while Ian's grandma Pat Pearl looks on.

Pat delivers a hot slice

to hubby (and Ian's grandpa) Tom.

Brian, the "unnamed loser" of last week's entry,

displays his famous parenting skills.

Marylee guides Ian through the gifting ritual.

Curious George was the theme of the day.

Ian dives into the icing -- he knows the

cake is just something to hold the frosting!