Birthday Weekend

Well, to quote Merrilee "That was the best birthday I ever had!" I turned 43 on Sunday and we spent the weekend in North Carolina. We packed more into one weekend then I think we ever have in an entire week-long vacation! The weather held out great, considering the pop-up tropical storm, Cristobal, that came out of nowhere on Saturday. It made for big waves at the shore when we went to Topsail Beach, but that didn't stop the kids and I from braving the rough surf. We took our dunks in stride and enjoyed the body surfing.

In contrast, the kids enjoyed swimming in the New River at the marina where the waves were non-existent. We just kept watch for the American Alligators that hang out in those parts. Didn't see any, though. Too bad...the kids were kinda hoping to have to out run one.

On Sunday we had breakfast at Cracker Barrel and then Jay asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday. I had thought about it ahead of time, so I think I caught him off guard when I said I wanted to go roller skating. But he came through like a hero, called a friend and found us the roller rink called Wheel Fun! It was so fun showing the kids how we used to rent skates and spend our time when we were in our teens. It has been thirty years since I skated! Despite all the bumps and falls, the kids loved it and didn't want to go home when I asked them if they'd had enough. They managed to keep it up for nearly two hours. We had a blast. And I have to say...Jay was quite Da Man on the floor! I didn't know he had it in him! Ladies, if you've gotten to the point of ho hum with your man, take him roller skating and see what you might be missing!

After we wore ourselves out skating, we went to the arcade in the lobby of Wheel Fun! I'm not an arcade person; I cannot stand the stress of video games, especially the kind Jay likes to play. I had to get away when Merrilee was playing one of those driving games; she was all over the place running down pedestrians and going the wrong way on the highway. I was getting way too strung out and was nearly hollering for her to "Turn the wheel, turn the wheel! Look out for that guy!" while Jay was holding her accelerator down and paying no attention to her, as he helped Jacob with his game. I was freaking out because she was going too fast and I didn't even realize she wasn't using the pedals because her legs were too short. It was awful. I was so glad when we switched to dunking basketballs. Whew, so much more relaxing.

We restored our spent energy with a chocolate cake/vanilla ice cream layer cake. It was a marvelous birthday and I think Merrilee can speak for all of us in saying it really was "The best birthday I ever had".