Then you have a sweet soon-to-be 11-yr old boy who is celebrating away from home and although you know its exciting to be on vacation, its also easy to feel forgotten when so far away from your family.
So let's just say, we had a lot riding on today.
Sammy was up at the crack of dawn... literally 6:00 am, ready to go to WalMart and stock up on party supplies. I had told Tyler that plan ahead of time in case he woke up to an empty condo.
We bought all the typical party decorating supplies... banner, balloons, birthday boy ribbon, cake decor, chocolate milk, and then some. As we snuck back into the apartment, I could hear the TV on in Tyler's room and knew he was ready. We set up on the dining room table and then walked into Tyler's room singing Happy Birthday. The smile on his face was priceless!
He came out, ready to conquer his day (and his presents). So after a few obligatory pictures, we got started... at 7:00 am... as you do. Tyler opened Sammy's gift first. It was a canvas she had painted of a T-Rex. Now, I was pretty impressed by her artistry but I was concerned about what Dino-expert Tyler might think. But no kidding, he seemed genuinely touched by her gift and asked if he could hang it in his room when he got home. Wow! Then it was Legos from Grandpa and Grandma Meindertsma and then more Legos from us. He was THRILLED. We even FaceTimed with Scott so he could watch as Tyler opened his last gift.
So Tyler went to work on Legos.
First up, Krispy Kreme donuts, followed by a riveting game of mini golf. I'm not kidding, I honestly thought we had played every course in this town but by golly, we found a new one... and it was great. Tyler loved that a train took you up the mountain to the first hole. We had lots of fun together as we all did our best to finish first. I gave updates on the score to encourage the kids as they were pretty close to me.
Sammy hit a hole-in-one on a pretty difficult hole... and then again a few holes later!
But overall it was the birthday boy that won the game. He was pretty pumped!
Next we crossed town to visit Toys R Us to spend some birthday money. Then it was over to Olive Garden for lunch... because you get a grown-up glass of chocolate milk when you eat in and we sat at the bar because then we could play the fun find the bottle game. It really was fun.
After lunch we scooted back over to the theater to watch Pete's Dragon. Tyler had already seen it with Grandpa Breen but he REALLY wanted to share it with us so we went. Sammy wasn't thrilled but she made it through. It was a great movie!
Next Tyler wanted to head home to put some Lego's together. So we picked up Coco and headed home. When we arrived there was a package waiting for us from home. Scott and overnighted some gifts so we FaceTimed again to share the gift opening. Scott is so thoughtful. He found the best gifts for Tyler. First was a mechanical tiger that pops out of a box to switch a button off any time you switch it on. It changes its reaction every time but its hilarious. Tyler loved it. Then he opened a monocular to look for stuff out in the water and the pier. And last was a magic kit similar to some of the tricks we saw by the magician at the Walk for Autism last weekend.
As soon as the call was done, Tyler popped in the video that came with the magic tricks and hung out with Coco while Sammy and I ran over to the waterpark for a bit. She was back in her element and it was so fun to watch and reminisce all the times we've been here before and how far that girl has come year after year. We stayed til closing at 5:00 pm.
He didn't feel like going out for supper and requested cereal instead... so I was eager to accommodate. Lego's consumed most of the evening until 7:30 when we ventured out in search of crabs. Walked clear down past the Embassy Suites and back and never saw a single crab. It didn't matter though, Tyler was sporting Scott's head lamp and felt pretty special and we did find some interesting bugs along the way and watched the lightning off shore.
Throughout the day several friends and family members texted and called to wish Tyler Happy Birthday. It meant so much to be remembered. He was so very excited with each message he got. At bedtime, I read him a whole string of Facebook messages as well. He rested back on his pillow with a big smile and told me Thank You for the 12th time (at least). "This..." he said "has been the best birthday yet! Except that Dad wasn't here with us."
I couldn't agree more. This was a close-to-perfect day. We are missing our Dad but having a great time none-the-less.
