Birthday Celebration with my Family

Today we went to my parent's house for a belated birthday celebration (my birthday was earlier this week). We had a great time! Mom knows that I am a majorly practical person, so she, Dad, and Mike got me very practical birthday gifts the most exciting of which is a Garmin navigation system. I am looking forward to starting to use this instead of mapquesting every new address I drive to! Mom also made my absolute favorite cake, which is pretty unique. I've heard of people making this recipe using chocolate cake and cherry jello or white cake and strawberry jello, but mom makes my favorite cake using a lemon cake mix and lime jello. You bake the lemon cake, let it cool a bit, poke holes in it with toothpicks and drizzle lime jello mix into the holes. Then top it with a very light and whippy icing made with milk, dream whip, and lemon pudding. Yum!

Ethan got a special surprise today too. My brother found a company online in Japan that makes model railroad N-gauge-sized Thomas the Train and Friends engines and cars. He bought a Thomas engine along with his coaches, Annie and Clarabel. Mike and Dad have an enormous N-gauge model train layout at their house (about 8 by 20 ft.), and Ethan LOVES watching the trains run with them whenever we visit. Dad "parked" the new Thomas engine and cars in a little building on the layout to keep them hidden from Ethan initially and then ran them around the layout as a surprise. Ethan was thrilled to see his favorite engine and coaches on Uncle Mike and Grandpa's train layout!