Happy Birthday to me...all weekend long.

Birthday #1
Friday night we had friends over(the Thomas and Saunders families) to play a really fun game. "The name game" *see bottom for directions on how to play the game.* Here is a picture of me with cake #1. It was taken just in time to miss the fireworks display that set off our fire alarm. Really, I am not joking. It was topped with sparklers.

These are the cute kiddos that helped us celebrate. Minus Gwen, who was sleeping.

The Big Day








As soon as Liv saw me on my birthday, she exclaimed, "Mommy, happy birthday to your cake!" with a huge smile on her face. She then proceeded to sing me. Happy birthday Sweet Mommy, (which I must admit, I taught her.)





















The girls surprised me and took me out to lunch at my favorite local Thai restaurant. YUM! Notice the rice shapes. Brittany's is a turtle, my personal fave.





















GO BLACK BEARS!! Hit'em in the head, Hit'em in the head, Hit'em in the head with a stick....
Yes we were actually chanting this at the U Maine vs. Boston U. hockey game. You don't know what it means to be a serious sports fan, until you walk into this arena. Mainers take their hockey very seriously. (About a month ago, I went to a women's retreat of which the sole purpose was to educate me on the game of hockey. I was grateful. This time I could actually tell where the puck was.)


Birthday #3
Sunday we had a family celebration. Brad got me a fabulous ice cream cake from a local bakery (cake pictured at top).

































Birthday #4
"All I want for my birthday is snow"
We Got it!! Yeah, finally its winter. Lets go enjoy the snow.

Anyone for a hike???
Our search for Waldo, MT. Waldo that is, wasn't the brightest idea any of us has ever had.

(mom maybe you should stop reading now)

With Liv on Brad's back, and Gwen inside my coat, we set off. (The Saunders Family and Mum and Dad Rand joined us for the adventure).

We quickly realized that the trail was right up the face of a rock, which happened to be covered by a sheet of ice. One man down. Gary slipped on the ice while carrying Nora. No one was hurt. So, we decided to blaze a trail through the woods where the underbrush would give us some traction.







Somewhere about 1/4 mile up the trail, I slipped on a patch of ice. Luckily, of the three travelers on my person (Gwen, Me, and our beloved camera), only the camera was hurt. (No need to be alarmed, its nothing a little electrical tape won't fix.) I quickly said, "I'm done." We all agreed, and turned around. Safely down the hill, we settled on some hot chocolate, grilled cheese sandwiches and an exciting round of "The name game." I guess we'll have to postpone our search for Waldo until Spring.

**Rules and Directions for The Name Game as follows.**

To Start: Everyone rights down 6-10 names on individual pieces of paper. The # of names depends on how long you want the game to be. (We try to keep the number of names around 50-60). It is important that you choose names which are very familiar to all those playing.

Round 1: Put all pieces of paper into a bowl. Divide into 2 teams. First player goes: Try to get your team to guess as many of the names as possible in a 30 second time limit. You can describe the person by doing or saying anything other than saying the name or using rhymes with. This repeats, alternating teams, cycling through each teammate, until all of the names have been guessed.

Round 2: Played the same way, only this time you can only act out the name. No words aloud. You use the same names in each round. and once again you cycle through each of the names. In any round, if during someones turn, their team does not guess the final name being played, it goes back into the bowl to be chosen again. Also, you may not pass on names.

Round 3: This round is played the exact same way as the other rounds, except you can only say 1 word to get your team to guess the name. Once this word is spoken, you can not try again with another word. The word can be said in any way (i.e. accents, etc.) but no gestures may be used. It probably sounds hard, but by the time you have gone through all the names twice, this round is probably as hard as the others.

I hope these directions are clear. We find it quite entertaining.

Thank you everyone for a wonderful birthday!! Thanks to everyone who wasn't here, for all your calls and cards. I love you.