it's been a good one!

this is a long post because of all my family and friends have made this a great birthday week!

today is my birthday. it's been a great day! actually in my house, we have jokingly called it my "birthday week". since it's the 4th of july holiday, the officer has to work today and tomorrow. we decided we would go out to eat for breakfast at the cracker barrel for my birthday. we decided we would let the kids pick out some small presents from their store. they had already gotten me some small candles.

the first gift is from my daughter. it's a little plastic treasure chest with a lock and key. it's filled with smarties. when she gave it to me today, she was very excited. she barely let me open the chest before she wanted to "help".

after i opened the chest, my daughter said, "i think we should take out all the candy, put the candy in the candy sack, and then i should put some of my toys in it for when we go to grandma with the sunglass's house."

i replied, "whose gift is this?"

"it's yours. BUT i think we should take all the candy out, put the candy in the candy sack, and then i should put some of my toys in it for when we want to grandma with the sunglass's house - in case you want to play with me."

i let her take the candy out, put it in the candy sack and fill the chest with her toys so i could "play with her". of course, four hours later the chest is broken because brother stepped on it.

the next set of gifts are from my son. he's so funny. i had told him earlier in the week my birthday was this friday. he got very excited. my son loves to get people gifts. he loves to personally pick out something he thinks they will like. in addition, he himself loves surprises so he loves to be able to surprise other people.

as soon as i told him my birthday was this week, he asked for a sack. i gave him a sack and he went into his room and filled it with goodies for me. this included his small horse, the star wars mint tin filled with money from his spending bank (so i could get "a little something for myself"), and an osu bear. now he knows i like ou and not osu. however, back in may when i went to the homeschool convention, the ou high school had a vendor booth. they were giving out free ou cups, so grabbed two for the kids. my son said, "since you make me keep the ou cup, you have to keep the osu bear, but you can name it whatever you want!" oh - he also gave me stickers of animals with big eyeballs.

the officer's been great. he's made the whole week great. he watched the kids and gave me a little time to go clothes shopping by myself. all mothers know this is great - to be able to shop and try on clothes without kids in the dressing room. i got to go to a late movie with my sisters last night, and sleep in this morning. he took me out to eat at the cracker barrel for breakfast - which was a lot of fun with the kids. he made me cupcakes - i like cupcakes better than cake even though i know they are essentially small pieces of cakes.

my mom called me last night and said she and her husband, b, had a surprise for me. b was going to take me flying. he owns a small aircraft - the grumman cheetah. i have never flown in a small aircraft, even though he's invited me several times. he picked up at 10:15 a.m. we went around the metro area. we saw my house, my sister's house and my mom's house.

it was a little hazy outside. it was warm in the cockpit but not too bad. there was a little bumpiness, but it didn't bother me at all. b didn't try to scare me too bad - he dipped down and it felt like i came out of my seat, but it didn't last for too long. a little yelp escaped from my mouth though. i think we were gone about an hour. it was a very different perspective to see the metro area. i can now say i actually did something on my birthday that i have never done before. thanks B!!!!!

i can't forget to mention my friends, b & c. they threw me a playdate birthday lunch surprise on tuesday. they planned a kor-rexican lunch for me. what's that you ask? well it's a lunch with koren and mexican food. they had kimbobs and beef bulgolgi (two of my favorite korean foods) and taco salad (one of my all time favorites). we had planned a playdate and then they surprised me with the special lunch and desserts. it was lovely!!!!! take a look at what they had. the cookies are homemade by my friend, c. she makes cookies for all occasions. if you ever interested in ordering any, contact me through here. aren't they cute? my friend, b will probably kill me for this picture of her making the taco salad, but it's the only one i had of her making the taco salad. she was being silly - martha stewart!

kimbobs

b making the taco salad

cookies my friend, c, made. you can order some if you like!

white cupcakes with homemade cream cheese icing - wonderful!

i am going to go eat at pei wei (which has vanilla coke in their machines!!!) with my mother, b, my kids, and my sister and her family. it will be a great way to end the birthday day.