The big 3-0

I had another birthday this week. Like last year, I was blessed by students and parents showing their appreciation and making the day special. I received these flowers from two different students, lots of tea (my favorite beverage), chocolate, and even a special delivery of Coldstone ice cream with Reece's cups in it at the end of the day. Not too shabby:-)

My birthday was actually on Thursday, but since teachers don't like being out late on a school night and David had band practice all evening anyway, we decided to post-pone our festivities until Friday night. We were on a mission to explore something new for a change. You know how you get stuck in a rut, going to the same restaurants all the time... Pastor Henry recommended a couple of places in Minneapolis and St. Paul, so we ventured out last night accompanied by our good friends Bryan and Emily.

Our reservations weren't until 7:30, so we started the evening breaking in Mario Kart on the Wii (one of my birthday gifts from David). Then we drove through a terrential downpour to "Dinkytown" around the U of M campus where we found our first stop, The Loring Pasta Bar. What a fun place! There was so much atmosphere; these pictures simply won't do it justice.

Here, you can kind of see the stage in the middle of the room with a live jazz band playing. The decore was really eclectic.

Melissa's Chicken Marsala with orzo pasta and green beans.

David's Seafood spaghetti

After dinner, we made our way to Grand Avenue in St. Paul where we found Cafe' Latte for dessert. I had a slice of their famous Turtle cake. Delicious! It was a very fun birthday night out!