My friend Ann and I threw some awesome birthday parties for our children.

One year, she helped me plan a Hawaiian luau-theme party. The backyard was awash in bright-colored grass skirts and leis. The kids, as well as the adults, danced the limbo over and over and over again.

Another year, we planned a “fashion show” birthday party. The children—girls and boys—came in their favorite dress-up clothes. From a bride to Captain America, we covered all the bases as the kids paraded through the neighborhood.

One summer, we put on a cowboy and Indians celebration for Ann’s oldest son. That’s the year, my three-year-old Trey fell in love with a pretty, blonde, six-year-old cowgirl.

Cap guns? Cake? Trey only had eyes for the blue-eyed cowgirl and followed her all over the yard.

Children grow up, but they don’t they grow out of birthday parties. We get together with our kids and their spouses on or near their BDAYS.

Sometimes we invite the family over to celebrate the LG’s—Lucky Guy or Girl’s—birthday. I make his or her favorite meal. My daughter Kristen, the family dessert chef, whips up whatever sweet treat the honoree desires.

Around our dining table, we eat, talk, and laugh—a lot. After the song is sung, the wish is made, and the candles are blown out, we usually play a game.

Other times, we dine out. The BDAY girl or boy chooses the restaurant. I don’t cook, but Kristen still makes and brings the dessert. The only thing missing is the game—until we met at a BBQ spot for Trey’s birthday a few weeks ago.

No sooner had we taken our seats at a tall top and ordered a couple of appetizers than a deep voice over a speaker announced, “Welcome to trivia night.”

We chose a Monday evening because it worked for everyone’s schedules. No one knew it was trivia night.

“Trivia night!” said Rebekah, Trey’s forever blue-eyed girl and daughter of my heart.

“Yay!” we all said in unison.

“Let’s do this!” said Trey.

Since it was his BDAY, and Rebekah is his wife, Trey named our team “TreBekah.”  Every time the announcer updated scores and said, “TreBekah,” we laughed and toasted our water glasses.

Every time we nailed an answer, we pounded the table in victory.

The six of us leaned our heads in close to discuss answers for questions like:

“What is the brand name of the first permanent marker?”

“Name ‘The Matrix’ sequels.”

“Name the procedure when cells are taken and looked at under a microscope.”

“How many toes does an alligator have on his front feet?”

“Name and alphabetize the state capitals that begin with ‘A’.”

“A museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico is named for what artist?”

“Who wrote the poem that begins, ‘Once upon a midnight dreary?’”

At times, it felt like we were cheating. After all, the demographic at our table covered every subject. On our team, we had a veterinarian, a physician assistant, an economics major, a history major, and two English majors—one of whom is also a decorator (not me).

The diversity in our ages/generations helped with entertainment questions in a big way. Still, the top three teams were neck-and-neck for the final round, close enough that the kids decided we should bet all or nothing with our points on the last question.

When the emcee said, “List these four receivers—Ward, Kelce, Gronkowski, Rice—in order from the most to the least yards in their Super Bowl careers,” our sports-minded table knew it had the win.

Jerry Rice, Rob Gronkowski, Travis Kelce, and Hines Ward—in that order—put a $50 first-place gift card in the BDAY boy’s hand.

And just like that, another memorable party in the books.