Michael's 38th Birthday

Michael took the day off of work on his birthday and we decided to take the kids to "Kids In Motion," a bouncy house playland that they love in Woodbridge.

Then we met his mom & dad, and sister & niece at the Macaroni Grill for lunch. I brought the cake along so we could enjoy it. Mikie kept asking daddy what theme he wanted for his birthday and he never would say what he'd like; so, I chose based on what he loves....and that is: SLEEP!
So, we were suppose to have a "sleeping" party where we all hung out in our p.j.'s all day and maybe even slept on the floor together as a family, but when you have me as a wife, that just isn't going to be possible! I kept us busy and out of the house from 9 am until 10 pm!

Here's the cake. Mikie insisted that daddy have 38 candles this year!

And by the time I lit the last ones, the first ones were almost half way melted! They were smoking so badly I really thought the smoke detectors might go off at the Macaroni Grill.

The ball of fire!

After lunch, the boys slept in the car while we drove south to Richmond to pick up a very large giraffe that was being held at a store for me (well, for Mikie's party, but really I always wanted one!)

We ate a quick/light dinner at Panera and then took the boys to the Festival of Lights at the Botanical Gardens. It was COLD that evening, but we stayed pretty warm dressed in our ski/snow gear. The boys enjoyed the lights but especially loved the model trains in the conservatory.

A peacock was my favorite display.

The dragonfly was neat too. I liked all the lights around the water because they reflected off the surface.
We got back way too late for Michael to open his presents, so the next day we had our "jammie" party and the boys gave daddy their cards.

This is the present (unopened) that fit the theme. I think he likes it!

Here's a little video of the "party":