Happy Birthday Grandma

We celebrated Grandma's birthday this weekend.  All she really wanted was for Lucy to arrive on August 18th, instead she got a lake day.  Complete with grandchildren, homemade birthday cake and some really cute gifts.

Since the weather has cooled down a bit, my kids were slightly reluctant to take a dip.  Clay was able to coax Jack in with the idea of a raft and a paddle.  I still don't think Jack ever even got his hair wet!

Maggie on the other hand would not even consider it unless Mommy got in.  And well, Mommy is really pregnant.  So I decided a bathing suit and 39 weeks pregnant just don't mix {especially in public}.

Yes, I felt awful.  But, Maggie entertained herself nicely on the docked boat.  And it wasn't long before Jack joined her and they went "adventuring in their imaginations".  A couple stops included swimming with the dolphins {this is really Jack's thing right now}, an iceberg to play with penguins, a race to escape a giant walrus, and a swamp cruise.  Rarely do my kids get bored.  Overtired yes, bored, not really.

But the best part, and the whole reason we made the lake trip, was to celebrate Grandma.  It's been a looooong time since we have been able to do that in person.  It's usually a mailed gift and a phone call.  This was so much better.

We sang her Happy Birthday, had a great homemade lunch filled with salads-chicken, pasta, spinach, and potato, and Grandma opened her gifts {and yes, in that odd order}.  Maggie had a great time helping to pick out Grandma's goodies. They both love shiny and sparkly.

The favorite homemade part of lunch though was the cake.  Maggie and I baked it while Jack was at school on Friday.  Maggie was so super fascinated that when it went in the oven it was near white and when it came out it was tan {I really need to bake with her more often}.  But she had a blast using the mixer and breaking the eggs. {I warned everyone to watch out for egg shells}.  Everyone luckily survived.

In true Maggie fashion, she wanted pink icing.  Jack said Grandma's favorite color was green, so we compromised.

We saved the cake decorating for after school on Friday.  I drew an icing line down the middle and gave each kid a side to decorate.  And wouldn't you know...they did the same exact thing!  Now, if I hadn't drawn that line there would have been a battle.  Go figure.

So the finished product was all pink with green icing polka dots and strawberries.  The kids wanted sprinkles but I couldn't stand the thought so we opted for strawberries and it was delish!

Yum!  I'm pretty sure the kids agreed.  Happy Birthday Grandma!  Next up is Lucy's Birthday!