Happy Birthday Levi

Happy Birthday Levi!

Here are the kid’s ….Luke- Levi- Meagan

When the kids were little we started the tradition of letting the children choose their favorite restaurant to celebrate their special day at. Over the years we’ve formed the “tradition” of a special meal with just us on THE big day, followed by a party for friends on a weekend close to their birthday.

It’s funny looking back over the years to see how their tastes have changed. McDonalds used to be a favorite… happy meal toys. Then we went through the “Circus Pizza” phase, depending on the type of party they chose to have with their friends. For a few years I remember the ChiChi’s phase, I think I had a little bit of influence back then.

Eventually we wound up being invited to Benihana’s for dinner with friends and the rest is history. Every birthday request is now Benihana’s. Here we are celebrating Levi’s 19th birthday at Benihana’s in Chicago. I’m not sure if the kids even watch the “table show” anymore. This year the kid's even tried some spicy tuna sushi rolls. They weren't fans but then again they're not even fans of the green tea ice cream. Outside of the extras, one thing hasn’t changed, the food was great!

The last time we were in Chicago, Levi wanted steak, I know...what’s new. We found Ichiban’s. I remember my Dad talking about the restaurant when I was little. It was put on my wish list - of things to do when I grow up.

After Eating at Benihana’s the first time, I knew what he was talking about. We have both restaurants in Minneapolis, but I’m a creature of habit so I never ventured out to the “other’ Japanese steak house. It was our first time to Ichiban’s. I have to say the chef was fun. He did tricks we have never seen. We’ve seen them juggle shrimp tails, build the onion volcano, and catch the last tail in their pocket. This chef was very talkative, funny, and he made a train for 5 grown adults. We were definitely smiling at the table. The food was another story, it didn’t compare to what we love at Benihana's. First of all the sauce was missing. Itchiban’s sauce tasted like ranch dressing, we were not impressed. And the portions did not compare. Maybe we were hungrier than usual, but we left unsatisfied. After Levi’s birthday celebration at Benihana’s we all had food boxed up to take home because we were stuffed, or maybe because Bob and Levi ordered a double order of fried rice!

My last thought. His birthday was actually on Fat Tuesday. I wonder when that will happen again. I think it would be great to choose a nice quite place on Bourbon Street for that birthday. I hope he invites me.

Ash Wednesdy!

We have been so busy lately. We celebrated my parents 40th Anniversary. We took a little trip to Chicago to visit Levi. He turned 19 on Fat Tuesday. We also caught the Wild game while we were in Chicago, it was so much fun!!! It's a first for me to be in the stands as a visitor from the opposing team and winning made it very sweet. "Tommy" Hawk even walked through our row to punch Bob in the chest, he was wearing his Wild jersey. We had the Book Walk at school Tuesday night, it's one of my favorite school events. And last night was Ash Wednesday, meaning church for us Catholics. I opened my email today to find a letter from Amy, my sister in-law. She has two little ones 5 years and 3 years ( I hope I'm right) old, she took them to mass and shared a sweet story. I thought I'd share.



So…we went to church tonight. It’s Ash Wednesday, and my kids had never gone on this day, so I thought I'd try taking them. I was a little nervous since Mike's out of town, and church started around bedtime. This could spell disaster!!!

Father Kevin’s Homily was SO GOOD TONIGHT, even the kids were paying attention! He compared Lent to camping. He said that he loves going camping because all you have are all the little things, which is really all we need. He had a camping bag he was pulling supplies out of…sleeping bag, water canteen, talked about fishing, and some other things in there. He said that Lent is about giving things up to make time for God. He said that with all the hustle and bustle in the world, people leave little time for HIM. I never thought about this but he also said “Instead of giving up the things we should anyways” there are lots of things we can do, like volunteer for 1 hour a week, reading just a few passages from the bible every night, not gossiping, not judging others, ect. We all bowed our heads and prayed and then Father asked anyone who had palms to bring them up so they could bless and burn them. They started a fire, which was pretty big for inside a church. We were in the back of the church(the last row) so the kids were standing on the pew because they thought this was pretty cool. Brewer looks over at me (and no he wasn’t whispering) and said “Mom, is father making HOT DOGS????” There were quite a few people who got a good chuckle out of that. Of course, my poor Brewey was SO embarrassed!!! Thought I’d share a little something out of the mouth of a toddler!!!

Unlucky Again...

It’s Friday the 13th, do you believe in superstition? Well today proved to be an unlucky day for me….

It started off great. I have the day off from school, so I slept in, woohoo. I was catching up on things around the house. This is going to be a busy weekend because we have a lot of stuff going on. I was thankful for a day at home to get things done.

I was sitting down to grab a bite for lunch, and I bit into a piece of buffalo wild wings and I hit a bone fragment. POP!!! Immediately I thought “Oh no, not again!” But, yep my front veneer popped off again! All that remained was the little nub they left to attach the veneer to. Luke thought it was funny. He said, “Mom, you know why that happened? Because it’s Friday the 13th.”

It was only a few months ago when the same thing happened to me. Only last time we were at a pool party with friends and boy did I get laughed at. I still get laughed at about the situation. I chipped my front teeth when I was a little girl and I lived with a crooked smile for years. I thought getting veneers was an awesome solution. They are proving to be a costly option to maintain.

Well, the bad luck turned better. Dr. Grey got me in right away and my smile is as good as new. Thank goodness! We have plans with friends and family tonight, tomorrow and Sunday. This year I have to say “I Love Dr. Grey” he’s the best.

Hope your Valentine’s Day is full of “Love”.

Enjoy!

Fly Like a....Blue Jay

I received an amazing email from a friend today. It’s a clip of a record breaking jump. Here’s the summary…

Record New Years Eve Jump
Robbie Maddison, who has taken over the informal motorcycle jumping crown that Evel Knievel once held, leaped a world-record 322 feet, seven inches in Las Vegas on New Years Eve.The feat, obliterating the previous Guinness World Record of 277 feet by Trigger Gumm, drew rave reviews in motoring circles.

It reminds me of my childhood, when my cousin Joe, a.k.a “Blue Jay” tried to break the Guinness World Record for jumping cars (maybe even buses?) with his pedal bike. It seemed like I was related to someone famous. The “official” people were there, the newspapers followed his career and the crowds were quite impressive to a six year old girl. As I recall, in the end someone broke his record before the end of the year. But, he will always hold a special spot in my heart.

If you want to check out the video on the New Years Eve Jump, follow this link.

http://www.maniacworld.com/Record-New-Years-Eve-Jump.html

Warning it’s quite a rush!

Scrapbooking at Sarah's House

This past weekend I joined my family for our quarterly scrapbooking fest. It started with my sister, my cousin and my Aunt. We always invite the entire family, if not to scrapbook then just to visit. We always have a few that take us up for the visit. This past weekend was extremely fun. My sister hosted this time, we take turns, and we had a huge turn out. Everyone came prepared to scrap, even Mom!!! She brought my little cousin Kimmy. I think she is hooked.

A few of my sister in-laws brought their computers because some of us are starting to get into digital scrapbooking. Personally I LOVE digital scrapbooking. I think of it as budget scrapping, but somehow the cost still adds up.

I just don’t think I can give up paper scrapping. It’s such a social activity. When I’m by myself I prefer to sit at the computer. There’s nothing to put away. If your not finished you just have to click save and it’s ready for you whenever you are. My favorite part is it’s a lot easier correcting your mistakes on the computer. And I make a LOT of mistakes. In the past I would just add another layer, or just leave it. I think my grandchildren will appreciate the fact that I wasn’t a perfectionist.

I wasn’t always so carefree. I grew up with a “type A” personality, and I passed it on to my children. Levi never completed his “journal” activities in kindergarten because they weren’t perfect, after a few weeks his teacher started making him take the paper out of the trash and turning in his first draft.

Over the years I have taught myself to let go. Now I can easily let go of my human errors. It took me a long time to learn acceptance. Levi was a little quicker; he became laid back early in life. I admire people who can enjoy life without stressing over the little things.

Well, our next scrapping fest will be at my house in March. I’m already bursting with anticipation, not for the scrapbooking so much, but for the quality time spent with my family.