Saturday, May 03, 2008

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!


9 comments:

the lambs said...

In honor of your birthday, we made chocolate dipped strawberries. They can't compete with that turtle cake, though. It looks amazing!

Joelle Lynn said...

Happy belated Birthday- Th BIG 3-0 huh? hardly remember that one I turned 41 this year, complete with coldstone too!

Looking at your pictures I find it hard to beleive you finished all that food:)

Joelle Lynn said...

P.S. Zach turns 16 on Sunday......and they just got mario kart as well, was that really your present or did David just want to play:)

Halls said...

Happy Belated Birthday!!! To be 30 again that would be nice...lol. With Robert graduating high school this year I feel very old anymore. Enjoy life it sure goes by fast!!!

TheGaffords said...

Mario Kart was in fact for me. I received the Wii several months ago for a random "I-love-my-wife-day." At first I rolled my eyes and thought "Sure, it's for me..." But it turns out I really enjoy playing. It's something we enjoy doing together. I never found any games that I liked playing with him on the XBOX. But the Wii is a whole other story.

The Claar Family said...

Happy Birthday :) I find it hard to believe that we could possibly be saying that number as our age! Well, I have a tiny bit of time left in my twenties, but it's coming this summer!

Wii is the first "gaming system" either of us have ever owned and it is quite addictive! I went pro on bowling last week so I quit playing while I was doing well...and so I could show off my status next time ;)

Well, happy birthday again. Enjoy the rest of the school year and the fact that it might finally be spring!!
~Amy Claar

Doreen said...

Happy Birthday Melissa! sure looks like you had a great day! OH yes, to be 30 again!!!

Unknown said...

That CAKE looks amazing! Happy BELATED 30th! It looks like it was great!

Kathleen lawson said...

Hi! No way are you 30 yet!! you're making me feel old. Happy Birthday!! The food looks delicious! Just found your blog site after many months of losing it. I miss you guys! Have a great week. Kathleen