Happy Birthday Sirk!

Leading up to his birthday, he called pretty late from Caracas last night to tell me about the horrible experience he had at dinner with a friend---long story short, the guy got sloppy drunk before their food even arrived...Kris didn't get to eat his dinner because he was more concerned with getting the guy out of the restaurant who was making a scene...between loudly insulting Kris in the restaurant and then telling him he is the greatest guy ever, Kris had to get help from the restaurant staff, including the maitre d', to drag him into the car....he was able to avoid ralphing in his own car that Kris was driving for him...Kris drug him up to his apartment (he lives in the same complex as Kris), letting him pass out on the couch, hoping he didn't die from choking if he puked....then left to go back to his own apartment...if you know Kris, you know this was not a good night for him since he HATES being around drunks and heavy drinkers and avoids it as much as possible. What a way to start his birthday!

We talked until midnight just so I could be the first to wish him a happy birthday and hopefully start his birthday on a better note. I've had so many ideas over the past few years about how I was going to help him celebrate his 40th... a family vacation, surprise party, a major purchase of something he has been wanting for a while or maybe a small birthday party with close friends. I can't believe he spent today alone at the Embassy...yes not only did he go into work on his birthday, it is also a Saturday. He did call this morning so the kids and I could sing "Happy Birthday" to him. When he got home he found that his friend left a note on the apartment door PROFUSLEY apologizing for what had happened the night before. Kris then decided to go to the movies and see Batman...alone. This was not how I wanted him to spend a birthday even though he's not a huge birthday celebration type person!

The kids and I are going to make it up to him, we have huge plans for him when he gets back. Since he was stuck in Caracas during Father's Day and his birthday we are going to celebrate both for a whole week. The kids and I have been making cards with 40 of his favorite things to either eat, do or see. We are going to try and get through as many of them as possible before we have to leave for Mexico. I want to steal an idea from the Call family and try to incorporate it into Kris' week maybe using some of the 40 cards for it. If you want a sneak peek of the idea before, you can read about it at Cinderella's Enchanted Birthday.

Sirk,
Our plans for Your week have begun.
Caracas has not been much fun
So we add to a list,
All the things that you miss,
Your 40th won't be outdone!

LOVE YOU!

-gert

Memory Lane Game

Memory Lane

Here are the directions:
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn’t matter if you know me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you.

It’s actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I’ll assume you’re playing the game and I’ll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don’t want to play on your blog, or if you don’t have a blog, I’ll leave my memory of you in my comments. So let’s have it! Don’t be shy! What do you remember? Anything funny, embarrassing (not too embarrassing! I'll get you back!), or silly… (I got this game from Rebecca and am doing my blogspot duty to pass it on...)

Busch Gardens

My parents live 5 miles away from Busch Gardens so the kids and I have taken advantage of season passes and have tried to go at least once a week. The season passes also cover Water Country USA which is 3 miles from my parent's home. We haven't gone to Water Country yet but that may happen next week. Of course we took advantage of Costco's price on the season passes and saved a bunch more. They have paid for themselves several times over. Our first trip was June 13th. My mom took Jamison with her while she ran some errands and I took Weston and Braedon to BG. Weston and Braedon stood on the drench deck of Escape from Pompeii for quite a while...I should have taped what it was like trying to get them away from it.




The boys and I drove up to Fredericksburg on Wednesday June 25th to check on our house and clean up some of the landscaping (still hasn't sold! ARGH!). We invited Nick Clark (lives across the street from us) to come back to W'burg and stay until Saturday when his family would be driving through W'burg on their way to North Carolina. Weston and Braedon were so happy to see Nick again. We went to Busch Gardens on Friday, June 27th.

Busch Gardens has an eagle preserve for injured bald eagles. This was our first time seeing a bald eagle so close and I was completely in awe. They are beautiful! This one in the picture is one of the smaller ones they have. The handler said the further north they are, the larger they are. Braedon had so many questions for the handler some that I remember are "How fast can a bald eagle dive?". "Can they pick up people?". "What about dogs?", and after the eagle pooped in front of him (they kind of launch it out the back away from themselves and it is quite a sight to see considering the velocity involved) he had to ask "Is he going to do that again?", and "How far can they poop like that?"...yes the handler was stumped so Braedon says "You should find that out if you don't know". We are working on trying to curb his cheekiness but it's so entertaining sometimes!



There is a section of Bush Gardens that is perfect for the little guys like Jamison. Little rides and a water area they can splash around in. It is a dragon theme and the boys are climbing around in a dragon egg.
















The Log Flume...I felt bad that I didn't tell Braedon that there were 2 drops. I knew he wouldn't go if I told him but I knew he'd like it once he went (c'mon, like you've never done that!) I was right...he loved it. His expression is priceless in the last picture (click on it to enlarge it). Don't worry, he came off the ride smiling like a goon and wanting to "do it again!"



















Nick wanted to ride the Griffon. It's is the worlds tallest floorless dive coaster (205 ft drop at 90 degrees...and that's just one of 2 drops). We stood and watched Nick ride it several times. In the second picture you can see Nick sitting in the back row first one on the right. I am trying to psych myself up to ride it. My mom rode it, my sister Traci rode it and so did my dad. I used to LOVE roller coasters but after being pregnant with Weston I get motion sickness like you wouldn't believe. It's not the ride I'm afraid of, it's the throwing up in public I'm terrified of and it WILL happen. Careful planning...Dramamine and an empty stomach and I'll be good to go...the rest is just mind over matter. I'll keep you posted on what happens. Once Kris gets here I'm going to ask my parents to watch the boys and Kris and I will go ride all of the coasters, as long as I take the Dramamine it will be one of the best dates ever! I can't wait!




When Nick would go onto a ride Weston and Braedon couldn't go on or didn't want to go on, I would let them play one arcade game, while we waited. The arcades were usually near each roller coaster exit. The duck Jamison is holding is from a game where you pick a floating rubber duckie out of a 'pond' if there is a star underneath him you get a prize...he picked one with a star!















Weston and Braedon played Whack-a-Mole and won these monkeys...they were so excited
they actually won something. I was excited that there was hardly any one at that particular arcade so it was easy for them to win something and I only had to pay for 2 games.




























After a long day, the boys played Pokemon on their Nintendo DS games. Nick taught them how they could trade between their game systems and do something called Pictochat (I guess it's like sending messages between their DSs from what I could tell). When I went into their room at 1 am to check on them Braedon was long gone but Nick and Weston were busy battling and whatever else you do with these things. This is how I found them sitting across the room from each other playing away:



It was a great day. Busch Gardens is our favorite place to spend the summer right now.