September 3 2010 – Moriah’s birthday

Wow. Moriah is 8. Time is flying. I am so proud of the little woman she is becoming. Her big hope for this birthday was to get a pet, preferably a frog or a lizard. Due to some particular issues that might make that a bad decision, we decided to surprise her with 2 hermit crabs. I am surprised at how cool I think they are. When I bought them, I was surprised at how they look and act. They are actually pretty interesting little creatures. They like to climb, change shells, etc. She’s having fun bringing them out of their cage daily and playing with them. Her party was a success, although not exactly what we had hoped. She wanted to use the pop-up pool in the backyard, so Melissa planned a big “luau” themed party. Unfortunately, my pool maintenance skills are not up to snuff. I keep trying to add chemicals, shock it, etc…but it keeps getting algae growth and I have to replace the water. Aarrgghh. That comes along with another set of issues, so we decided to skip the pol and have a slip-n-slide party in the back yard. Still did the luau action with games, Hawaiian music, etc. Tried to teach the group of friends how to hula dance with a DVD, and it was funny to watch, but I’m not sure they were totally in to the idea.

Later, my parents and I headed down to the aviation museum and were able to spend 10 minutes or so just looking at the Spruce Goose and quickly walked around the floor before they closed. They got a feel for what a quality museum it is and plan to spend a full day or two in the near future.

For Moriah’s birthday dinner, we went out to Red Robin. That was fun. When the staff sang to her, she stood up on the table and beamed out at the people in the restaurant. She was so happy and proud of her birthday. Another funny thing was what my dad ordered. He said he wasn’t very hungry, so he just ordered an oreo milkshake (ice cream) and french fries. He said he didn’t realize that the fries would be so big, but he downed the whole thing. Since they don’t have fry sauce there, I showed him the old bbq sauce/mayo/ketchup combo and he was hooked. I told him he ordered his food like a teenager! And he loved the meal. You just never know.

Happy Birthday, Moriah! It's hard to believe...where has the time gone!?!