This year, all my boys (and Brad) took the day off to celebrate with me. The first stop was lunch at The French Pantry, a famous lunch spot that I've been wanting to checkout for over a year. The buzz on the street is that The French Pantry is an incredible bakery that supplies many of the area's top restaurants in addition to serving a small lunch crowd Monday through Friday from 11am to 2pm. I read that we should arrive early and be prepared to wait up to an hour for a seat. As we made the 30-minute drive that morning to the bakery, Anh assured me that everything I read was merely hype and was probably being blown out of proportion.
Imagine Anh's surprise when I pulled into the bakery lot at 10:50am and we all witnessed first-hand a gang of 50 to 60-something year old ladies clad in tennis attire SPRINTING towards the line that had formed outside the front door. All hype, huh?! So, when in Rome...Anh, Brad, and the boys bolted out of the car and secured our place in line as I parked the car. Forty-five minutes later, we were seated and ready to enjoy our selections which included a to-die-for napoleon, a slice of wedding cake, and 3 of the tastiest sandwiches you could ever dream of! I am not exaggerating!
Oh and a bacon-topped brushchetta that was simply out-of-this-world. Again, I only wish I was exaggerating because it'll probably be a while before we make it back to this fabulous establishment. Unfortunately, the hours just aren't convenient which means this will have to be our casual, special occasion joint. Boo!
After lunch, we loaded ourselves back into the car and headed to the Museum of Science & History for the afternoon. It seemed like a fun, educational activity that might sort of makeup for the fact that the boys were skipping school to hang out with me.
One of the best exhibits covered the various functions of the human body. The boys were delighted to learn all about burps & flatulence, and there was even a hands-on simulator that demonstrated the difficulty of robotic surgery. Jaxon showed a bit of promise, while Baylor and I struggled. Anh did the best, obviously, given that he had an unfair advantage of prior experience. Surgeons...such showoffs!
We wandered through the remaining exhibits learning about everything from dinosaurs...
to reptiles, amphibians, and birds of prey...
to astronomy and space travel.
The boys even had the opportunity to get down & dirty in a makeshift archaeological dig.
By far, the most fascinating item on display for the boys was this phone booth. Both Jaxon & Baylor were infatuated with the phone booth and not because it once served as Superman's changing room. I really don't understand it except to say that to them it's a relic!
The only thing that we could use as bait to successfully lure them away from the phone booth was the indoor play area and water table, but even those failed to generate the same excitement as the silly booth. Odd!
The birthday fun continued later that evening at Jaxon's Cub Scout meeting. Yes, Grandfather, we made. I guess it's undeniable that you and I are genetically related. I didn't use my birthday as an excuse to skip out of the meeting, but I can assure that you won't find us there on our anniversary. For what it's worth, the meeting did turn out to be rather entertaining. The boys were challenged to identify various foods during a blind taste test as a means of learning about the food pyramid.
After Cub Scouts, it was time for MORE sugar! Exactly what none of us needed, but of course we ate it anyway. Anh ordered a cake from what used to be my favorite bakery prior to discovering The French Pantry earlier that day. The baker once again amused us with her decorating skills. She asked Anh whether I liked pink...I guess he told her "yes!" Ha!
What the cake lacked in beauty, it more than made up for with taste...moist layers of cake separated with jams/puddings topped with a hint of fresh fruit complemented by light airy whipped frosting...YUMMY!
At the end of the day, it wasn't the number that I was reflecting on, but rather the fact that I'm one incredibly lucky girl who just happened to be celebrating a birthday surrounded by friends and family that make me look forward to yet another year of fun!
Imagine Anh's surprise when I pulled into the bakery lot at 10:50am and we all witnessed first-hand a gang of 50 to 60-something year old ladies clad in tennis attire SPRINTING towards the line that had formed outside the front door. All hype, huh?! So, when in Rome...Anh, Brad, and the boys bolted out of the car and secured our place in line as I parked the car. Forty-five minutes later, we were seated and ready to enjoy our selections which included a to-die-for napoleon, a slice of wedding cake, and 3 of the tastiest sandwiches you could ever dream of! I am not exaggerating!
Oh and a bacon-topped brushchetta that was simply out-of-this-world. Again, I only wish I was exaggerating because it'll probably be a while before we make it back to this fabulous establishment. Unfortunately, the hours just aren't convenient which means this will have to be our casual, special occasion joint. Boo!
After lunch, we loaded ourselves back into the car and headed to the Museum of Science & History for the afternoon. It seemed like a fun, educational activity that might sort of makeup for the fact that the boys were skipping school to hang out with me.
One of the best exhibits covered the various functions of the human body. The boys were delighted to learn all about burps & flatulence, and there was even a hands-on simulator that demonstrated the difficulty of robotic surgery. Jaxon showed a bit of promise, while Baylor and I struggled. Anh did the best, obviously, given that he had an unfair advantage of prior experience. Surgeons...such showoffs!
We wandered through the remaining exhibits learning about everything from dinosaurs...
to reptiles, amphibians, and birds of prey...
to astronomy and space travel.
The boys even had the opportunity to get down & dirty in a makeshift archaeological dig.
By far, the most fascinating item on display for the boys was this phone booth. Both Jaxon & Baylor were infatuated with the phone booth and not because it once served as Superman's changing room. I really don't understand it except to say that to them it's a relic!
The only thing that we could use as bait to successfully lure them away from the phone booth was the indoor play area and water table, but even those failed to generate the same excitement as the silly booth. Odd!
The birthday fun continued later that evening at Jaxon's Cub Scout meeting. Yes, Grandfather, we made. I guess it's undeniable that you and I are genetically related. I didn't use my birthday as an excuse to skip out of the meeting, but I can assure that you won't find us there on our anniversary. For what it's worth, the meeting did turn out to be rather entertaining. The boys were challenged to identify various foods during a blind taste test as a means of learning about the food pyramid.
After Cub Scouts, it was time for MORE sugar! Exactly what none of us needed, but of course we ate it anyway. Anh ordered a cake from what used to be my favorite bakery prior to discovering The French Pantry earlier that day. The baker once again amused us with her decorating skills. She asked Anh whether I liked pink...I guess he told her "yes!" Ha!What the cake lacked in beauty, it more than made up for with taste...moist layers of cake separated with jams/puddings topped with a hint of fresh fruit complemented by light airy whipped frosting...YUMMY!
Jaxon and Baylor could hardly wait to dig in!
At the end of the day, it wasn't the number that I was reflecting on, but rather the fact that I'm one incredibly lucky girl who just happened to be celebrating a birthday surrounded by friends and family that make me look forward to yet another year of fun!
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