Sushi, S'mores, and More

I was born on Mother's Day, so my birthday always falls within a few days of it every year.  That makes the second weekend of May my favorite weekend out of the year! 

Originally we wanted to head out of town to Fredericksburg for a bed and breakfast getaway.  It was raining all over Texas, though, so we decided to stay local.  Sarah and Adam were brave enough to watch the kids so Brian and I could have time to ourselves.

Brian took off of work on Friday to spend the day with me.  We started out at the gym (I didn't want to feel guilty about having birthday dessert!) Friday morning.  We then had pedicures at a local nail salon.  Brian has had a pedicure before, but this was his first time at a typical Vietnamese owned salon.  He really enjoyed it.  He loved the massage chair, the foot jets, and the hot stone massage.  There were several other men there so Brian didn't feel too out of place.

Brian is pretending to not like the pedicure.  :)

poor lady had her work cut out

I sat next to him and texted him pictures

We then headed to Perry's for lunch for their porkchop special.  It was fabulous.  Later that evening we had dinner at Vintage Park and then went to a painting class at Vino Artino.  This was Brian's first painting class and he had a great time.  I've been several times and love it. 

painting a picture called "Wine Mixer"

We ended the night at Papa's on the lake with Nik and Crystal.  We listened to Josh Fuller and Dirt and Diesel play. 

Crystal and I at Papas on the Lake

The next day we watched Halle at her swim meet where she kicked butt!  She got first place on three of her five events.  The other two she came in a very close second.

Brian then took me to the mall for a shopping spree! I racked up some clothes, shoes, purses, and accessories. 

That night we had friends over for a get-together.  We rolled our own sushi and drank Skinny Margaritas.  Crystal Light makes a skinny margarita mix.  Just add tequila and some salt, and voila!  70 calories for a skinny rita is much better than the 300 plus calories in a traditional margarita.  We had a lot of fun rolling the sushi!  It makes for a fun adult party. 

Nik talking in his Japanese man voice as he's rolling.

The Sushi Spread.  Everything you need for a Shaggy Dog Roll or NYC roll or your own specialty roll!



the Bobbie Roll
 

We made kid sushi too!  They also had octopus.

PBJ sushi, Ham and cheese sushi, and string cheese and hotdog octopus
 

Since we had freakishly cool weather for May, we hung out around the fire pit and roasted marshmallows for s'mores!

Mother's Day was the next day.  My husband took care of the kids and let me sleep until noon!  Having uniterrupted sleep is the best Mother's Day present I could ask for.  He then brought me coffee and brunch in bed.  I'm lucky to have such a great hubby.

That evening I took a trip to see my mom, and then the girls and I enjoyed frozen yogurt at Berri Swirl. 

I got some great cards from Brian and the kids, along with some really awesome presents from my friends.  It was a fantastic weekend.  With the exception of getting older, I wish it was my birthday every weekend!


Halle's 10th Birthday - Dolphin Party

Halle's birthday is during the heat of the summer.  Her first party was luau themed and was outdoors.  It was stifling hot!

Halle's First Birthday

 Because of this we have always had her other birthday parties at an air conditioned indoor venue like Jumpin Jaks, the Children's museum, skating rink, and so on.  This year, though, she really wanted a dolphin party because she ADORES dolphins.  She can sit and spout off all kinds of facts about dolphins, the different species, communication techniques, eating habits, etc, etc. 
In addition to having a dolphin theme, Halle had specific requests for her party.
1) There had to be water involved
2) There had to be a craft-like activity
3) She wanted red velvet cake.
4) I had to make her cake
5) There had to be games and prizes

She summed up