Ultimate Birthdays!

First...I want all to know that I will be posting about our vacation starting tomorrow...there were so many great adventures!  However, I wanted to send a shout out to my two peas in a pod...Michael and Amanda...on their special birthdays!  Michael celebrates his ultimate birthday of 42 (Hitchhiker reference to those who do not know) and Amanda celebrates her 21st birthday!

We started out the day right by allowing these two late risers the opportunity to sleep in until 9am before presenting them with breakfast in bed.  Thankfully they both like the same food as we were able to prepare an amazing sunny side up egg special with bacon, stuffed hash-browns and cream cheese bagels.

Then we began Michael's birthday theme which was all about Hitch Hiker gifts.  My dear cousin Karen created a unique towel with the ultimate number and "Don't Forget" embroidered on to the sides of the towel.  Everyone knows that you cannot forget your towel when going on adventures!  The towel is the ultimate tool when travelling through time and space.  Michael immediately demonstrated the use of the towel as nourishment on the journey!  Then I gave him a tablet cover with the words "Don't Panic!" emblazoned on the front.  Very helpful advice for any situation!

The best gift of all was the pursuit for the ultimate replacement vehicle for the one he totaled two weeks ago (right before our vacation).  Who would have guessed that he would end up with a heart of gold to commute to and from work?  He found his car with the first test drive and was even given a 'gift' of transferring his maintenance plan to the new vehicle.  That was nice since it was not even used for the first vehicle!  He is especially pleased that he now has power windows and doors as well as a place to set up his phone and MP3 player directly into the speaker system.  Considering his last car was as old-fashioned as he could get, he was quite pleased!  My favorite part of the new car?  It has lower payments and a manual transmission!

We ended his birthday celebration at a family Italian Bistro where the waiter humored our crazy side.  We acted like we were just pushing our food around the plates and not eating (although our hunger overcame us and we did eat our meals!) and we played bistro mathematics (You do know that is what keeps the universe in motion, right?!) with the price our individual meals!  The waiter was even kind enough to bring out a chocolate cake to celebrate!  We laughed so hard when he asked where we were traveling from...we just told him we traveled 4000 miles to get there even though we were currently living in San Antonio!  We were tempted to talk in our Midwestern accent the remainder of our stay but decided that we had tormented him enough!  He apologized profusely and said he just wanted to make sure we did not order the spicy foods on the menu which made us laugh even harder!

Amanda's birthday was all about hats (and a tail!), as well as an introduction to an Irish Pub.  The second day of our trip, we knew one of the gifts we would need to buy for Amanda.  She was always loved hats, so it was no surprise to find ourselves buying her another one.  She fell in love with it and wore it around the store and then gently placed it back on display before leaving.  I then promptly picked it up and purchased it and then hid it until just the right moment.  She squealed with delight!  I love buying hats for her!

As we strolled down the streets of downtown San Antonio, she found a hat shop.  She had to go in as she was on a mission to find a true black fedora.  She was so happy when the man who helped her took her to the perfect hat!  She had been looking for this hat for a long time!  So, the second hat was purchased yesterday!

Did I mention that Amanda was walking around with us yesterday in one of her many costumes?  She had cute fluffy ears and a tail (purchased by dear cousin Karen for her birthday last weekend!).  She was adorable and had no care for those who stared at her as she walked by on the River Walk.  She had a blast even if she was walking around with her "boring" family!

Then we took her to her first Irish Pub....Dirty Nellie's, which is on the River.  I can honestly say that I will not worry about Amanda abusing alcohol..she hates the stuff.  We bought her a token drink for the occassion just so she could be ID'ed and she only took two sips of the rum punch offered her.  The boys enjoyed eating the peanuts and Zaira was the life of the party as she danced to the Celtic music played by the "piano man."  We only stayed about 15 minutes, which was just the right amount of time to spend in a pub.

We ended the evening with a special float Amanda created with lime sherbet, grape soda and whipped cream topped with a cherry syrup smile!   She named the joker float and hopes to use it in her cafe someday (I think she call it the "Come As You Are Cafe" as all are welcome in their cosplay creations.)

So...ultimate birthdays complete...much to be thankful for in their lives.  May God bless my two peas...I love them dearly!