It was my birthday yesterday. Thanks to all those who either called, mailed, emailed, or facebooked birthday wishes (or cards or presents) to me. Those things really do brighten a Wisconsin girl’s day:) As is our family tradition, we don’t go all out for birthdays or holidays around here. Mike and I tend to be impulsive if we want new things and can never wait until a birthday or holiday to receive those coveted items. Of course, we put together a little something for the girls, but Mike and I usually just go out somewhere nice to eat for our birthdays.

Mike didn’t disappoint last night. His thoughtfulness was quite apparent when he chose a dining establishment for me to celebrate my special day. Upon arrival from work Mike insisted that we had to leave the house by 6pm. I asked where we were going, and he tried to convince me it was McDonald’s. Silly boy! We got in the car a little before 6pm and drove through miles and miles of country, farmland, and back woods. I kept inquiring about our location, but Mike played coy and declared that he didn’t know where we were going and that we’ll just pick a place once we see something decent. After what seemed like forever we arrived at Johnny’s Chophouse in Antioch, IL. I can tell Mike put a lot of thought into his choice because it serves a fine selection of seafood which is my favorite. I quickly decided on lobster for my entree and was completely satisfied (almost too much). For dessert the girls and I shared a chocolate, lava cake with vanilla ice-cream. Mike couldn’t resist the bread pudding. We were all so stuffed by the end of the meal that even Annie was complaining that her belly ached (she’s fine though). Thank you to my beloved husband, Mike, for such a wonderful meal! The only complaint that Mike and I had about the restaurant was the constant Frank Sinatra music in the background. One or two songs from the crooner is tolerable, but all Frank all the time is a bit too much. We figured out that Johnny’s had it set to “Siriusly Sinatra” which is a satellite station dedicated to you know who. Pardon me if I offend anyone who loves Frank, but he just ain’t my thang.

There will be cake tonight. Mike baked it the other night and will frost it with the girls tonight. Shhh, don’t tell the girls that I know because they think it’s a surprise for me. Annie was so confused last night when we didn’t have the cake and kept asking (even this morning) when we were going to celebrate my birthday. She couldn’t believe just going out to dinner would be the only observance of my birth.

I have a hard time posting without pictures. Since we didn’t take any pictures from my birthday festivities, I thought I’d post pictures from last weekend when Mike and a couple of boy scouts pulled the engine out of the jeep.

Having trouble at first.

Almost out.

Look at that progress. Now what are you supposed to do with it?

On Saturday we had a garage sale. A couple from church brought some of their items to sell, too. They have 3 kids, 2 are playworthy for the girls, so that kept the girls busy all day. The day started out dismal and a bit rainy, but by 10am we had good weather and a steady wave of “customers” until after our closing time of 3pm. The girls decided to have their own garage sale on a different part of the lawn. They kept absconding with items from our sale to sell at theirs. When we inspected the items they were “selling” we also noticed that they had prices no higher than $0.10, and that’s including an infant car seat. Thankfully, most garage-salers were keen enough to know not to take the kids seriously.

Overall, the garage sale was a success for us and helped us rid ourselves of a LOT of junk that’s been piling up in the basement. I am planning to sell a few more things on Craigslist such as our non-Mac-compatible HP printer/scanner/fax/copier, an old filing cabinet, a paper shredder (Mike prefers to burn our discarded documents, whoddathunk), a 2nd toddler car seat (we’re saving one for the baby when she finally needs it), and a Hoover Floor Mate left by the previous owners. If you know of anyone in the local area interested in these items, just let us know. How’s that for online exposure?!?

We received some kites from Grandma Minnesota during our visit to MN. The girls have been begging us ever since to fly them. Mike finally had the time to do this with the girls. I would have loved to have been the one to fly the kites with them, but I lack kite-flying know-how. Annie and Mimi were so excited, and each got to fly their own kite.

Difficult to see, but here are both kites in the air.

Mimi with her kite.

Annie with her kite.
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Sorry for the ultra-tilt on the pictures. I guess I got myself into that mode when I was trying to fit both kites into the picture.

The dental department at Mike’s work has an annual picnic, and Mimi and I got to attend this year. The day started out great with full sun and warmth. However, about halfway through it got windy and a bit chilly and eventually started to rain. That seems to be the theme around here lately: one warm, nice day and then a couple of chilly, not so nice days. Mike was in charge of the activities, so he brought a volleyball set-up, a couple of frisbees, and a basket full of water balloons. There was a ton of food for us including brats, burgers, beans, chips, fresh fruit, cookies, brownies, and soda (sorry you Minnesotans, I just can’t let myself say pop). Mimi and I left right around the time it started raining because I had to run a couple of errands before Annie was to arrive home from school. Mike said the rain only lasted a little bit, and they were still able to do their activities.

Mimi has this new underbite smile pose.

Of course, there had to be balloons.

The many faces of Mike.

It was a fun day, and Mimi loved being able to see her Daddy during the day at the park along with Franklin.