summer flashback: my birthday

for my birthday back in june, we took the kids to a hibachi grill for the first time. we got off to a fantastic start when the kids' waters came complete with really cute straw decorations!



there's just something that makes your water taste extra special when there's a 3-d paper fruit hanging from your straw!


next came the soup. my kids are not real big "soup fans" in the first place, so i wasn't expecting them to jump up and down at the sight of brown broth with some mushrooms and scallions floating in it. but ethan and caroline surprised me! they took a few slurps and still had smiles on their faces!


it wasn't long before the hibachi guy came out to do his stuff. wow, he looks pretty mean here.


i tried to take a picture of him lighting things on fire. i am super proud of this shot.


the kids loved his show, especially the part where i was the only one to catch a pea in my mouth, and the guy yelled "big mouth!"... some things never change. :)


i did get another chance to document fire, and the pictures turned out a little better this time!


behold, the favorite... the onion volcano!


my kids all liked the zucchini, too! amelia and hallie especially scarfed it down. i have been roasting it at home since!


and this was my birthday dinner! yum. double yum.


here is photographic evidence of my finicky four-year-old trying new things! happy birthday to ME!


hallie kept grabbing for my fortune out of my fortune cookie, so i cracked up when i read what was printed on the little paper: "what you seek is within your grasp." yep!


here we are... one big happy (and very, very full!) family!


the kids could've stood looking at this fishtank for another hour.


so next year for my birthday, we will get fast food for a fraction of the price and then go stare at fish in the pet store. ha!

for my birthday dessert, we all picked out a cookie from the cookie company. you can't tell, but mine is a gluten free, fat free, calorie free cookie made only out of kale, coconut oil, and grass-fed beef. well, besides the thick layer of perfect icing in the middle. ;)


love this shot of amelia and her "happy birthday" cookie, a new recipe that the girls both chose. we all agreed it looked better than it tasted.


the kids really did love the hibachi experience, and they agreed that we definitely needed to go back soon. we told them that the last time we ate there was for my birthday 8 years ago... when i was super pregnant with ethan. so we joked and said we'd come back in another 8 years, and it hit me that ethan would be driving then. wowzers!

it was wonderful to celebrate my birthday with my crew. i am beyond blessed!