The best birthday EVER!

Seriously.. wow. Who would have thought 28 would be the best?? First off, I already told you of Dr. Laura -- seeing her in person was unforgettable. The icing in the cake? My very first mp3 player.. as if this wasn't enough, my in-laws gave me a portable GPS!! It is a Garmin Street Pilot C330 -- aka: Lifesaver. I am always getting lost. Seriously, I hate driving out of town because my sense of direction.. not so good. Now I have this groovy device that talks me through every turn. No more stress driving, no more getting lost in Portland!! :) Just.. the best. I thought this was it for my surprises.. nope. All of this took place before my actal b-day, so I was expecting.. well, nothing. My first surprise was a call from an old friend asking me out to breakfast -- FUN! So we all packed into the mighty van and let my new GPS tell us where to go to eat. Turns out it thought Ihop would be a good place.. ok really I picked, but it gave me a list to chose from. I just love that little thing. After breakfast I arrive home to a beautiful vase of flowers -- 6 white and 6 red carnations.. I love carnations.. perfect for the family on a tight budget -- they smell terrific and last forever. Anyways, in my card was a note from hubby saying we had reservations at Alassandro's and that my folks were watching the kids -- WOW! I instantly panick because I have nothing to wear!! No problem, called a friend (my fashion adviser) and went to my favorite consignment shop. Found a fabulous little black dress and felt much better about the night. Went to the restaurant where we enjoyed the most fabulous dinner and live music. I ordered the chef's surprise.. basically had a 5 course meal (cold appetizer, hot appetizer, salad, main course, dessert) and a different wine to go with each course that the chef picked to compliment the food. That was interesting. I haven't had that much to drink .. ummm.. for at least 4 years? It only equalled about 3 glasses all together, but boy was I feeling it!! It was so fun being surprised each course!! Just.. fun. I loved dressing up and being with MAtt. I could go on and on about the night.. but I'll just leave it at this -- perfect.

Ok ok enough of me.. on to other news. I found this princess bike at a consignment store for $7!! Alissa was in heaven!! This is her first ride.

And here she is harrassing the poor dog. :) Zena loves her.

Finally.. why is it that when you have more then one child -- it becomes next to impossible to get them to both look at the camera at the same time? It just doesn't happen. Ok, that's not true.. but it doesn't happen when you REALLY REALLY want the perfect shot.. and they happen to be matching dinosaur pj's.. sigh.. maybe next time? ?

It is almost Valentines Day!! Tomorrow is "Daddy Day" at Alissa's school. She is sooo excited!! I'm glad Matt has Thursday's off.. You know, I don't think I posted this.. the other day we were in the car with Bethany and she asked Alissa who her favorite Super Hero was.. know what she said? My Daddy. How cool is it to have a daddy who "gets the bad guys" just like Spiderman?? Her own personal super hero. Life is good.

By the way.. still no spell checker.. you will have to bear with me ;)