Maine, I am in you.

My mom said this was probably going to be their last trip to Maine—so I took both kids out of school for a week and off we went!

And with my mom, the reason for the vacation!

Looking up at the beach cottage from the fire pit.

Two-pound lobsters for dinner? Yes, please! Katie hated it (color me not surprised) and Owen liked it. Tomorrow we’ll have lobster rolls.

Katie wasn’t thrilled with any of it.

Owen tried everything—from cracking to eating.

After dinner they surprised me with a birthday cake—complete with 50 candles!

Why yes I’m starting my 50th with a crown!

And a homecoming parade. Owen always gets dressed at school after we drop him off—and then changes back after—so we never really get a chance to get a pic in his uniform. I knew he’d be walking by us in the parking lot so I could stop him for 10 seconds…but he swears he didn’t see us so this is all I got.

I just realized you can’t see my awesome shirt so here it is…

And then Bass Pro Shops to pick up a bleacher seat.

And then home to be surprised by a yard sign!

And then a restful afternoon reading with a margarita!

Holy crap I’m 49!

Yes you bet your ass I’m wearing my crown!!

No fun errands or escapades… We were on our way to Michigan for my cousin’s wedding (technically like second cousins – whatever my cousin’s kids would be to me!).

Birthday dinner at a super yummy Chinese restaurant in Saginaw.

And a birthday margarita, because of course. The waitress guessed it was my birthday – telling me her mom wears a crown, too. Hey, it got me $1 off. LOL

And then we realized we wanted water for the hotel room so stopped here.

Tom’s new ride!

He’s waited 20+ years to have a truck and he certainly went all out! (I’ll just be over here choking on the monthly payments.) He put a deposit down in February just to get on a waiting list and it finally came in! Happy 50th birthday—you get no more presents for a few years!!

Goodbye!
Hello!

P.S. I guess I should tell you what it is (if you’re not a car person and have no idea)—a Toyota Tundra TRD Pro.

2022 dual birthday pool party!

For as much as I take pictures of everything we do, I seemingly always let it slip on pool party day. At least I got one of both kids.

This one was from a friend.

And this was as we were packing up—Anna found a little grasshopper and put it on Katie.

The party was a big success again! All the kids love it! And it’s easy since we don’t have to clean the house.

Happy 10th *GOLDEN* birthday, Katie!

Double digits today! She says Owen calls her the double digit midget.

This is Katie’s GOLDEN birthday!! (Let’s not talk about how I apparently didn’t take a 9yo photo. I have no idea what happened.) You completed our perfect little family, even if Owen screamed that he didn’t want you to come home with us because you wouldn’t stop crying. You’ve been a cute little pistol ever since, and he loves you now, even if he’s a teenager that rarely shows feelings. And we love you, too, even though you challenge us on a seemingly daily basis.

All the swears, you guys…ALL.THE.SWEARS

I screwed it up when I did a shirt like this for his 11th birthday, too. I managed to fix that one but this one I’m just leaving.

I asked and turns out I did design it correctly but I forgot to “weld” the design to print as one solid piece… so the Cricut assumed it knew better than me and rearranged the design to use less vinyl. Lesson learned.

(It says years/days/months instead of years/months/days.)

48th Birthday Adventures

As you just saw, my birthday started with an amazing rainbow eye look to match my tie dye outfit. Plus the crown of course.

But the actual adventures actually started with heading with my bestie to pick up my other bestie and then head to Kenosha!

Trying to find catchers equipment for Owen and backup mitts for Evan at Play It Again Sports. What you do when it’s your birthday and wearing a crown and a mask.

Next birthday adventure stop: lunch at Frank’s Diner! It’s been two long years since we’ve been here and it was as delicious as we remembered!

No jalapeno bacon for the Bloody Mary this time. Womp wah.

Next? Crumbl—this will be birthday desserts for us with the kids instead of cake. They didn’t have my fave cornbread ones this week, though. And yes, we ate a few bites straight from the trunk!

I caught Anna sneaking some bites in the car!

Now birthday adventures are on a hiatus but I’m cuddling with my doggo so all is well.

Birthday adventures, mom style: taking Katie to physical therapy! Ha.

Birthday adventures, kid style: watching a movie!

The last birthday adventure! A margarita by the fire…with Tom and Anna and David. With an Ozzy Man Reviews topper. It was chilly so I had my sweatshirt on and they thought it looked like a queen’s cape!

All in all, a great 48th birthday!