I think I’m finally back to normal… yep. Finally.
I left for work at 6 a.m. Friday morning, and didn’t walk back into our house until 3:30 p.m. yesterday! Granted, there were some other events in there besides just work, but it was certainly a long day (and a half)!
Friday was a normal camp day until 2:30 p.m. when we boarded busses to make the (usually) 2 hour ride up to Waukesha, Wisconsin where our camp owns 17 acres and another day camp. Once a summer, we borrow their land and have an overnighter in tents, and pretty much have the biggest sugar-fest ever. We got stuck in traffic and the ride became 3 hours, and after some bathroom emergencies, we set up tents and then headed to Culver’s for dinner.
It was really amazing to watch kids order their dinner without having to wait for parental approval. I believe I heard “You mean I can have fries AND ice cream? AWESOME!” … and then there were stomachaches. It took quite some time to have all 110 kids order their food and eat, but eventually we made it out and on to a HUGE indoor water park. I have to say, the best part of the night was the 20 minutes I got to spend in the hot tub with one of my friends! Every year, we take a version of this picture, and we ended up with about 4 this year:
Once we arrived back at camp, we built a campfire, made s’mores, watched movies on a huge outdoor screen, and I eventually crashed about 2 a.m. while the pre-teen and teenage campers ingested more caffeine, sugar, and energy drinks than I’ve ever seen. Needless to say, they all crashed on the bus ride home!
At 11 a.m., all my campers had been picked up from OUR camp, and then I headed to the spa where I had appointments to use the gift certificate from Adam. After being scrubbed, massaged, rubbed and polished, I headed home to get ready for my birthday party!
Friends and family met up at the Yard House for dinner and drinks. While we were waiting for our appetizers and dinner, I opened gifts. Some were useful (a skirt and bracelet from my friend Kristin, soap and a candle from my friend Josh, and kitchen tongs from my mom) and some were silly (sushi erasers and magnets from my “aunt”) and some had a theme. Since it was my golden birthday, I got a series of golden things!
A golden journal, golden malted pancake flour, Golden Grahams, Little Golden Books, Rold Gold pencil case, gold eyeshadow. (I took a pic of the lunch bag, sushi erasers and tongs too)
We started with some appetizers on the suggestion of Adam, who had eaten at that restaurant far more often than I. We got lobster and crab dip, onion rings, and I chose a grilled artichoke. The onion ring tower was gorgeous AND delicious!
Then, since I couldn’t decide what to get, I went with another of Adam’s suggestions, and I’m SO glad I did! This is a crabcake hoagie with tomato, lettuce, bacon, and cheese. NOT a healthfood item, but I did my best to lighten it up. I got the sauce on the side, and half the cheese, and removed half the bread. Oh, and my mom stole my pickle.
Adam got quite possibly, the biggest and most delicious salad I’ve ever seen in my life! It was a BBQ chicken salad, and I have no idea what was on it, but it was GOOOOD.
Of course there was beer, since the restaurant is famous for their selection of tap beers (over 100!), so I got a Woodchuck Pear Cider, which, as soon as I find in bottles will start residing in our house. They brought me a surprise tiny dessert, which I shared with my mom and Josh… just the right amount of PERFECT chocolate cake!
We finished eating and then headed up the street to Pinstripes, a very posh bowling alley. I bowled a great game (got 77!) and Adam had the high score of the night at 145, though Kristin and Steve gave us all a great challenge. At about 9:30, it started to hit me that I’d only had a few hours sleep the night before, so once our game was over, we headed home. It was when I walked in the door that I realized “OH CRAP! I forgot to do Cute Food Saturday!” I felt so bad… but I didn’t have the energy to do a whole post last night.
So you get some cuteness today!
Katrina sent me this picture a while ago, and I’m so glad I finally remembered to post it:
And here’s some Panda Bread
And Mii cupcakes from Bakerella
And that’s it… I’m off to walk to Starbucks, then to my future sister-in-law’s bridal shower! I’ll be back with dinner!
Huge hugs and my thoughts are with Meghann and Jen… There are no words that can heal completely, but just know that I’m thinking about both of you!
Tagged as:
birthday,
camp,
cute food,
dinner out,
family,
friends
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Love love LOVE the golden birthday themed gifts!!
.-= Kristin @ Iowa Girl Eats´s last blog ..Fancy Free Sunday =-.
Sounds like you had a total blast!! Love the cuty things at the end..
.-= Simone (junglefrog)´s last blog ..BBQ! =-.
Those are some CUTE foods! I love the panda bread. I’m so glad you had such a fun sleepover/birthday dinner. It seems like you are really living this summer to the fullest, and I think that’s fantastic
.-= Hallie (healthy twists)´s last blog ..Testing the Hypotheses with Friendship Bread =-.
What a fun celebration…I love Yard House. Their onion ring are to die for. Love the golden theme
.-= Lara (Thinspired)´s last blog ..Interview with Anne Cain =-.
I want to eat that entire onion ring tower myself
.-= allijag´s last blog ..Bamboozled =-.
Hey, thanks for the shout out. There’s my cute turtle!
I love all the yummy food on your blog! My husband would love that tower of onion rings!
.-= Katrina´s last blog ..Apple??? Crisp and Vanilla Ice Cream =-.
Hahaha! totally chuckled at the ice cream and fries and stomachache. Ah, kids.
And LOVE that green tortoise bread and the panda bread!
.-= Sophia´s last blog ..I’m a Daddy’s Girl =-.