Uncle Nut turns 26

The Birthday Blog

Yesterday my little Raftery turned 26, officially making us the same age for another 4 months, at which point the public old jokes start up again. Early in the week, his gift from me arrived and he convinced me to let him open it early:

We decided to record a video of Maddy's reaction, but we were disappointed that she did not find it at all unusual that he was dressed as green man. Sigh. His second gift was an "Always Sunny" shirt, from the "Kitten Mitten" episode, partially shown here:

Anyway, Saturday rolled around and we began the day by going to Doc Taylor's for breakfast, then went to the Sugar Plum to pick up the cake. I couldn't find a picture of the exact one, but here's a similar one and the description below. This is the cake we are planning to have for our wedding and used Raf's birthday as an opportunity to try it out:

"Bailey's Chocolate Cake: 4 split layers of chocolate cake filled with Bailey's Irish Cream flavored mousse, iced with Bailey's flavored chocolate butter cream and garnished with white chocolate curls."

Delicious. We brought the cake home, then went out to get Raftery a bike. A special thanks to Janet and Bill for our brand-new beach cruisers:

Not a great shot, but you get the idea. And yes, the bikes are in the living room until we are able to get some hooks to hang them in the shed. Luckily, we got the bikes just in time for "Bike Week":

Wrong kind, though.

Raf rode his bike to Karen and Ryan's and we hung out for awhile. They got him a super cool new toy, a cooking torch. You might want to think he is hoping to make me some creme brulee, but in fact, he just wants a more efficient way to melt cheese. (And I think he likes to play with fire.)

Pretty cool, huh? Thanks, Karen and Ryan. I'm gonna have some delicious meals now!

Next, we rode our bikes to Awful Arthur's to watch the Yankee game, eat some shrimp and get some drinks. Luckily, the Yankees won so the day was not ruined. We headed to Waterman's next:

We're thinking about having the rehearsal dinner here, so decided to try it out for dinner. Despite Ryan's freak flash of sickness:

... it was really fun. The girls were so behaved and the food was fantastic. Proof:

Attractive, huh? Some other shots:

Those are some beautiful people! 

We headed back to our place for cake and some hanging. Camryn spent the entire time rolling around on the carpet:

Too cute!

Raftery was not as keen on me taking pictures of him:

We then watched some "Team America" to top off an excellent day. The birthday boy is back to work today. In the meantime, for those of you who were concerned about our ailing vacuum, here is an update from Bill, the vacuum doctor:

"Your favorite vacuum cleaner was admitted last nite and underwent emergency arthropic surgery to correct a complete infarction of its main hose. It suffered an arrest during surgery and was difibrillated and was sucessfully converted to normal function. Pathology of the blockage showed some wood, some dog, but mostly cat. It is resting comfortably and can be discharged after work tomorrow."

Thank goodness.

Raftery's Birthday Card

Ohhhh, Pennsylvaaaaaaania... is where I'm from.

(Pink pajamas, penguins on the bottom... pink pajamas, penguins on the bottom)

So. Went to PA for Spring Break and had a downright fantastic time. Let us review what went on, some with visual aids and some without.

Friday- Left my meeting at 2:30 and drove through the afternoon. I had a lovely conversation with Dorn on the way that took up much of the drive, then spent the remainder of the time listening to my excellent book on tape. I arrived in Lancaster around 9 PM and spent the evening with the fam. and the Swavely's, sitting around the fire and listening to Josh play the guitar. (Our favorite tune was "Kiss From a Rose".)

 Here's the scene. Note the fire pit at the top left.

Saturday- Slept in a bit, for the first time in a long time, then we all went to a "winery" on Rt. 23 called "Kog Hill Brewery". For $3, we got tastes of 30 different kinds of wine and a free glass. One drunk mother and a case of wine later, we were headed to the "city" for dinner with Kip at Iron Hill. We finally got to see his apartment and said hello to Maui, then headed back to "Grandma Mema's" house. Raftery and I cannot recall what we did that evening, but I don't think it was anything eventful so fear not.

Sunday- Ah. Now THIS was a good day. We got up super early and drove to Hershey for our spa day. (Kip even came this year!) Started with a workout in the beautiful gym, then swam and went in the jacuzzi. After that I went to the aroma therapy room to read, then had a great lunch in our bath robes. In the afternoon I got a massage from a dude whose stomach was growling the whole time and a facial from a woman who whose stomach was not, then spent about another hour reading and relaxing before heading home. Raf made dinner for everyone (which was freakin' awesome, by the way) and we hung out for the remainder of the evening. Let us peak in on the blessed event.

 

The pond, looking lovely this spring.

The chef, Kevin Bacon himself.

 The drunkards, in the entertainment kitchen.

The begging animal

My charming baby brother, who is not as angry as he pretends to be

Mema cleans up after the troops

Scully, avoiding the dog.

And the chef relaxes, claiming he made this face on purpose. Riiiight...

Monday- Tater went home this day (tear) and my mommy and I went shopping for her wedding dress. (For my wedding that is.) We spent the day at "City Park", trying on clothes and listening to my mother hack a lung. Want to see the winner?

After asking everyone in the store if this dress was too fancy/casual/young/old/springy, etc. the dress was finally purchased. She now wants "one of those front things" on every article of clothing she wears. Maybe we'll eat everything on banana leaves too?

We were pretty much burned out after this day, so this is where it ends. I believe I watched 24 as well.

Tuesday-  This day began my new diet/exercise plan. I began the day by taking the dog for a very long walk (which she became accustomed to right away) and playing Wii Fit for about an hour and a half. Soon after I declared myself in dire need of a Wii Fit. Man, was that fun! If anyone wants to get me one, please let me know. I then went to visit my grandmother in Orwigsburg (yeah, no one has heard of it). I spent a few hours with her, then returned home to learn how to use Twitter and care for my ailing mother.

 Here is what Maddy did all day...

Wednesday- Went to Brecknock today! It was way fun. We got medical advice from everyone, co-taught a couple of lessons (ask me about Phylis, the gourmet cook with nothing better to do than eat fancy meals), and I created a master to plan to change the world as superintendent of the world under the supervision of my former boss. Afterward, we went to get our nails done then ate dinner at the diner. I spent the rest of my evening with the Meases and Fyocks. Some shots:

The monsters live up here. 

T

This place sure was pretty.

The Loxley's ghost

 Tim and Justin avoid the camera...

S

Sara and Steph do not

  A classy pic of yours truly... I forget what Tim said to make me do this, but I do not forget why I was wearing sun glasses in pitch darkness...

Thursday- On this day, I had planned to go to my house in Lancaster to clean it to get it ready for the weekend showings. Unfortunately, not only did I have to cancel my meeting with the realtor, I also realized that the house has no water since it was winterized so it would be fruitless to attempt to clean anyway. I basically hung out, walked the dog, and played Wii until the afternoon when I went to Blue Ball, post state testing.  I meant to take a picture in the light, but forgot. I promise, it exists. Proof:

 

Got to see a lot of old friends. Spent some time catching up with my old fourth grade colleagues, plus Carla, Lori, and Alison. Then I met up with Carrie-Anne, ate about 10 pounds of veggie chips in her hobbit hole, then went to the Pub for dinner. After a lovely conversation and some beverages, we decided to head to Squireside for some ice cream. Unfortunately, while attempting to cross the street, we witnessed (then froze, then observed) a motorcycle accident from the middle of Main Street. It was pretty brutal. Luckily the man in the accident (who had no helmet and we suspect had been drinking) was conscious and up, moving, and talking to the Dunder Mifflin EMT by the time we left the scene to walk up the street and calm down before getting milk shakes. After making virtually no left turns on the way back to the school, we saw our (former) bosses and were awfully giggly so I had to make sure my mom confirmed to them the next day that we were not, in fact, inebriated. Good times. Carrie-Anne took a fantastic picture of the scene of the accident with a sign in front that said "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood!"

Friday: On this day, I woke up and packed up. After a quick workout and lunch at Ten Thousand Villages with my mom, Maddy and I went to Dillsburg to visit Seth and Kerrie's new house. Looooved it! They bought land a few years ago and recently began construction on a modular home. Let's take a look:

Front exterior, pre-porch

 

Living room (pre-Maddy blood)

Kitchen, with gorgeous cabinets. See that tree view? Love it.

Dining room (pre- Maddy poo)

Front hallway, with stairs going up to a balcony. Awesome.

Master bedroom with new paint.

Master bathroom, with jacuzzi tub.

All in all, it was a lovely visit. From there, Maddy and I went immediately to Todd and Colleen's in Jonestown. This lovely house was too good for pictures. I don't want to remember my jealousy. (Actually I just forgot to take pictures.) Despite the fact that Finn is clearly allergic to my poison dart frog dog (who knew this was possible??), it was a great time. Colleen made meatloaf with strawberry shortcake for dessert. We spent the rest of the evening watching "The Marriage Ref" and "Parenthood", hatching a scheme to market ghost-hunting tools, and drinking multiple bottles of wine. This was very fun!

Saturday: After a long debate about whether or not to go out to breakfast with Todd and Colleen, I returned to the Horbal/Frederick household to work on Greg's resume and philosophy of education, plus enjoy one last meal and hang out in the yard. This day was goooorgeous, so Maddy and I had a photo shoot:

Cats in fresh cat nip.

 Yard shots. This hammock is awesome.

My dog is pretty.

We ended the day with some delicious pork chops and some "Castaway" (in which we invented alternate endings based on other Tom Hanks movies) before I drove home during the night, finishing my book on tape and making record time.

Sunday: For my last day of break, I finally got to enjoy some good beach time. Raf and I went out first thing to have breakfast at Doc Taylors with Zach, then went to buy me a beach cruiser. Meet my new friend:

Love. We spent the rest of the morning cleaning, despite the fact that our vacuum is broken. Luckily, Heard and Haylie brought theirs over for us to borrow, then we all took the dogs to the beach for a walk. Here it is, friends... proof of Haylie:

Here she is, attempting to dodge the picture.

And here, cleaning up after the dog waste.

And here, playing with Tetley, who is suddenly brave as a result of her haircut.

A closer shot...

And now, a shot of the boys, to leave Haylie alone for a minute.

We went home for a bit, then bought groceries and went over to  Karen and Ryan's for the evening. Had some delicious buffalo chicken sandwiches, watched Brynn do the skeleton dance, and chatted for awhile, providing a nice relaxing ending to a great vacation. Mostly this was the best spring break ever. (Partially because I've only actually had... 2(?) before!) 9 more weeks until summer! Can't wait!