Celebrating Alyssa's Birthday Again

My folks came up from Portland this weekend to have Alyssa's family birthday celebration. Friday evening included presents and a very yummy Italian dinner at Johnny Carino's. Penne, spaghetti, lasagne, fettuccine, and bowtie were enjoyed by all. Since we didn't have a birthday cake we even had dessert which is something we rarely do at a restaurant. Noah and Alyssa had the best dessert, the chocolate cannolis. My mom and I split a very strange version of bread pudding. It was a very dense cakelike dish with caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream. There were no signs that it had ever been bread. My favorite bread pudding is made from day old cinnamon rolls swimming in a bowl of cream from The Turkey House.

I got a present too. My dad delivered a new stained glass piece of art for our home. Alyssa helped design it. The reeds, cattails, dragonflies, and the frog reflect our watery environment living near an estuary. I am certainly fortunate to have two talented artists in my family. I wasn't expecting this new piece of art till my birthday in March. I walked right past it twice, and my family laughingly pointed it out to me.

Saturday of course brought two basketball games for Noah. Both gyms were in unfamiliar territory, and we were lucky to find them on time. The boys lost the first game. The whole team seemed to be out of sorts. Noah pulled in 14 rebounds and scored five points, but the boys who usually lead our scoring attack were cold. The second game was very exciting. You'd never know that Noah's team had suffered a crushing defeat just 90 minutes before. They played with great energy and excitement and came away with a victory.

On Friday I'm taking the afternoon off to take Alyssa to get her license. Then I'll have to find a nearby errand for her first solo drive. I'm not looking forward to this new chapter of our lives where I'll have less control of her activities. But she's a good girl and I know she'll be responsible.