Twenty Nine

I had a fun birthday last week. Everyone was so sweet, and I got lots of love. I also got in an accident. And then I picked a Mexican restaurant for dinner that was somewhat underwhelming (I'm so sad- the one good authentic Mexican restaurant in the area that I know of must now be under new management, because it wasn't nearly as good as the last time we went...time to start looking for a new favorite).

Anyways, the accident was also kind of frustrating. I rear-ended another car at the intersection of a green light when a police car pulled out across traffic in front of her (thankfully, everyone involved was fine!). So, according to my insurance company, I was at fault and would therefore assume all responsibility. But the other driver's insurance company called me and offered to pay for damages... so anyways, I was on the phone for much of my birthday trying to sort all of this out. And I felt so stupid of course that it even happened.

These made up for a lot. We had the most delicious cupcakes from a local cupcake shop. The peanut butter cup one was the clear winner of the night, although the boys initially had their eye on the "gold" one.

The next morning, we took Paul to the airport for another business trip. Ironically, he was going to present at a vehicle safety fair. :) Benjamin took this picture of our Google chat one of the nights.

Peter was anxious to show Dad on the computer that he finished ALL TEN "Max the Cat" books. And he read them all TEN times! We are sure proud of him. He's anxiously awaiting his prize to come in the mail now. He wanted a Spiderman Lego set.

On Saturday, we made up for lost time with Daddy by going to the pumpkin patch as a family.

I'm not sure why the boys started posing like this, but Nora seemed a little insulted when we asked to see her best strong pose too.

  

I love having my sweetheart back. Thankfully, he won't have any more long trips until February. 

 

The vintage fire engine proved to be the most exciting part about the pumpkin patch.

  

Eventually, we had to drag them off. 

After the pumpkin patch, we went to a new place that we'd heard a lot about- The Emperor's Palace. Since it's a buffet, I wasn't sure what to expect. But the food was really good (sushi, king crab legs, delicious soups, Mongolian BBQ...), and the kids had a blast. Especially Nora, who was enamored by all the ponds of koi fish around our table. I'm a lucky girl. I'm so grateful for my wonderful family and friends, who are the only things that really matter. The rest, is all just icing on the cake.