After a breakfast of strawberry heart-shaped cupcakes (in honor of the birthday girl), I told the kids that we were going on a field trip. They were instantly excited and wanted to know where we were going. Since we're studying birds in science class, I told them we were going to the airport to observe the "big birds"--airplanes! The smile disappeared from Bookworm's face. She wasn't thrilled about driving 100 miles to look at planes on her birthday. In fact, there was quite a bit of complaining on the drive over. This wasn't the special day that she thought it would be.
You can just imagine the looks on the kids' faces when we pulled up near the baggage claim at the airport and saw Grandpa and Grandma standing there smiling. Screams errupted. Now the whole "let's go look at airplanes" thing made sense. How's THAT for a birthday surprise? My FIL had to attend the funeral of a preacher/friend, so the men headed off in one car while we girls headed to a very nice mall to do some shopping.
Bookworm got to choose a restaurant to eat lunch at. Of course, it just happens to be my favorite, too. I was well-behaved and didn't order any cheesecake since we were having our church's Valentine Banquet that night. The girls were thrilled to spend some time with their grandma.
Bookworm was serenaded with "Happy Birthday" by several of the servers, and the girls all enjoyed free ice cream sundaes.
The only drawback to our day was the drive home. The Atlanta highways are a giant parking lot during rush hour. We sat on the roads for hours. I am not used to driving in the Big City, so I was quite stresed by the time traffic finally started moving. Our Valentine Banquet was at 7:00. I pulled up in front of the door at 6:59. I didn't even have time to run home and freshen up. Lesson learned: stay out of Atlanta! :)
We had a wonderful time at the banquet. The food was delicious: chicken divan, pork tenderloin, fresh green beans, garlic mashed potatoes, squash casserole, strawberry salad, coconut cake, and peach cobbler. Mmmmm! We played a fun group game, and my FIL shared some thoughts on love. The highlight of the evening was a duet by Bookworm and her daddy. She sang "O My Darlin' Clementine" while he accompanied her with his guitar. Did you know that song has umpteen verses? She did a great job, and the folks enjoyed it.
Friday morning Mr. C's parents headed back to Florida bright and early. The kids were disappointed to see them go, but hopefully we'll be making a trip down next month. I think Bookworm's birthday turned out pretty well for her after all.
Labels: Family Life, Special Days