Birthday for a Moose

Spence has his birthday about a month ago. Yep, I'm the worst blogger ever, so I am posting about it now.

I felt bad because we both had to work that day. I had planned a bunch of things and they kind of fell through. So we went out to dinner an Italian restaurant called Ilio DiPaolos. It was made by an Italian who wrestled in the 1950's. The food is pretty good. But the best part, was the cannoli's. They were the best ones that I have ever had. And Spencer says that they were the best ones he has had in America.

Then we came home. I had made him a yellow cake, per his request. I'm not very good with decorative frosting. But I tried.

He made a wish and blew out the candles. I got him a hockey jersey and tickets to two Sabres games for that week.

It was a quiet birthday, but there was more to come.

Kinder Eggs

While we were in Canada, we went to the store to get Kinder Eggs. I had never heard of them before. Spencer had them while he was in Italy. Apparently they are a kind of chocolate candy that they don't have in the United States, for whatever reason.

We bought the store completely out of them. We got a bunch for us and a bunch for Mindy for her birthday. Here is a box of Kinder Eggs.

Each egg has a chocolate and white chocolate shell with a yellow plastic egg inside. Inside that egg, is a small toy. I guess that they are really cool or something. The chocolate was good, but I wish that there was more of that and less of the toys. The toys seemed kind of pointless since we aren't little kids and don't have little kids.

Here are some pictures of the progression of eating these candies.

Spence liked the yellow monkey with sun-glasses best. We'll have to remember to bring some with us when we visit.

Niagara Falls

Spencer and I hate going out to dinner on Valentines Day because it is always crowded and crazy and you always have to wait forever, even when you have reservations. So we have decided to go out to dinner either the weekend before or the weekend after, when it is not so stressful.

This year we decided to go to Niagara Falls. We went to a brunch buffet at the Round Room in the Skylon Tower. Niagara Falls is only half an hour away from us, and we had never gone.

Here is the Skylon Tower.



The restaurant is in the top.



Our seats were right next to the window overlooking the falls.



The food was okay, and the view was great.



Niagara Falls from our table.



After brunch, we went out to the viewing area. I like the view from our table better. It was warmer and there wasn't a metal fence in the way. We didn't stay there long. Just enough for my glamor picture.

Then we walked down by the falls.

There was a couple of rainbows from the mist. And something about the area was making everyone's hair stand up like during a lightning storm.

This is overlooking the edge on the side of the falls.

They really are powerful.

We stopped at a gift shop as we were leaving because we were looking for Kinder Eggs. There was a couple of Moose outside that looked like they were up to no good.




I am excited to go in the summer time. It will be neat to go on the boat. I'm really excited to take my parents and Greg there if they visit.

Birthday Packages

I received some packages for my birthday.

One was from Jenny and Mindy. It was these cute cards with our nicknames on them.




Another package was from Joyce and Homely. It was these cute clothes. Spencer really like me in them. I like them, too. They are especially nice for these winter months. And they go perfectly with the jewelry that Joyce and Homely got me for Christmas.



And finally, I got a package from my mom. It had these books and movies inside. I loved "The Brave Little Toaster" when I was little. The other DVD is some of the cute Disney cartoons with music that I also loved as a child. The big book is How to Be a Princess. I already know how because I am one, but it is really cute anyways. And the other book is one that my mom always talked about called Nurse Nancy. It's a cute book about a little girl who pretended to be a nurse.




The best part of this package was a book that my mom made about me. It has pictures of me as a baby and child and as I grew up through college. It has short stories and memories. I absolutely love this gift. It was so thoughtful and means a lot to me.

Thanks mom for taking the time to do this. And thank you to Nat, Lex, and Kar, who I am sure had to help her with it. Also, Lex and Nat thanks for the cash. That was sweet and enjoyed.

Thank you Mindy, Jenny, Homely, and Joyce for thinking of me on my birthday. I love you all and miss you. I hope we get to see you this summer.

Evil Bee Helicopter

For Christmas, Homely and Joyce bought us a remote helicopter toy. It is a lot of fun. Mostly to tease the dogs with. Mia is scared to death of it, of course. Brady is curious until the propeller hits his nose.

Here's a few pictures.

Thanks Homely and Joyce for a fun Christmas present.

January Vacation

The week of my birthday, I took some time off of work. It was a really fun time for Spencer and I to spend together. We slept in every day. We watched a lot of movies. We played a lot of games. We cleaned the house a little. We played in the snow with the dogs. We went to movies. And did other activities. It was a wonderful vacation. One in which we could really rest and be lazy. I loved this time that we got to spend together without work or school or anything else that we had to do.

Here are some videos of Spencer snowboarding. He's pretty good. He did better than I did.

Brianna's Birthday

I have always wanted to share skiing with Spencer so that we would have a winter activity to do together. I tried taking him once, but it wasn't a very good experience. So we decided that we would both try snowboarding. Spencer took me snowboarding for my birthday.

It was a really snowy day at Kissing Bridge ski resort. We got a lesson together. It was alright when we were just going down a tiny part of the hill and hiking back up. But the rope-tow was another story. It was the old-fashioned rope-tow, not like the fancy kind you stand on at Targhee. It was like flashing back to being three or four again and trying to hold that stupid rope and keep it from sucking your hands down to the ground. It was so hard to keep from getting tangled or falling and holding everybody up or making the rope-tow stop. I would just hurry out of the way so they wouldn't have to stop it. It was really hard.

Going down wasn't too bad, as long as you stayed straight. Anytime we tried to turn, we would fall. We got really good and going straight and fast and then falling at the bottom.

The thing about snowboarding for me, is that you have to twist your knee into anatomically incorrect positions. My knee didn't like it at all. I feel bad because I guess that the only thing I said all day is that my knee hurt. However, my hands stayed super warm thanks to my new gloves from my parents. In fact, they were so hot that I took them off once and a while to cool them off. Thanks mom and dad for my awesome Christmas present. It is great for the weather here in Buffalo.

Here's some pictures.

The evil rope-tow.

We ate some food at the lodge and then went home. We put in a good 5-6 hours of trying, though. I was proud of us. We both got hurt. My knee was shot and Spencer swore he broke his rib. When we got home we were both very tired and didn't feel like doing much except sleeping. Spencer got me a red velvet cake. I had been craving red velvet.

Spencer also got me a GPS system. Out here in Buffalo there are no mountains. So I can't tell which way is north/south. Therefore, I get lost often. The streets here are really confusing, too. So Spencer got me the GPS to help me out when I need it. It also works in Canada. This is nice because we are so close to Canada. The GPS also finds nearby restaurants, gas stations, and other important places. We are excited to use it for mini-trips this summer.

He also got me a couple of really cute tee-shirts. It was an exhausting birthday. It was harder than others that I've had, though. I really feel like I am getting old. It's tough.