Emma's 16th Birthday

We don't do "friend parties" every year for our kids.  Frankly, it's a lot of work that results in organized chaos, and the kid gets a bunch of presents that they may or may not care about.  We've limited friend parties to ages 7, 10, 13, and 16.

For Emma's 16th birthday (a couple of weeks ago), I gave her the choice of a friend party OR...a weekend with me in Green Bay.  She chose me!  I felt really honored.

After dinner, we checked into our room at Fairfield Inn.  It was really nice, and the staff was so accommodating.  We got a discount on our room, so we were able to afford a king room with a couch.  Here's Emma enjoying said couch.

Light Blue Gatorade & Cheetos ~ Emma's Faves

We went for a dip in the pool and a soak in the hot tub after we got settled.  The pool wasn't very big--only four strokes across--but it felt good to be in the water.  (I need to start swimming laps again.)  The hot tub was...hot.

Squeaky Clean

  

We had some snacks and watched a few episodes of American Pickers.  All I can say is, "One man's trash is another man's treasure."  A few things they found were pretty neat, but I wouldn't pay what they were planning to ask for retail prices on even the neat stuff.

The hotel had a lovely, complimentary, hot breakfast.  Great coffee, too--even the decaf I had the night before was good.

Then...shopping.  We are not mall people.  I mean, I knew that about myself already, but I wanted for Emma to figure out how exhausting, overstimulating, and expensive malls are all on her own.  She did.  We had lunch at the food court and then wandered around in and out of various stores.  I did see something that tickled my fancy.  Well, really it just made me laugh.  Out loud.  I was crying.

The laughingstock of the dog and pumpkin communities.

  

With yet an hour left to kill before our evening activity, we were done.  We found a Culver's outside of the mall and ate some frozen custard while we chatted for a little while.  Quiet. Comfy. Delicious.

The finale of of our weekend was an evening at the Cup o' Joy--a Christian Music Venue in Green Bay.  They mostly have music groups and open mic nights, but they occasionally have comedians too.  We saw a guy named Daren Strebelow, a Christian comedian from Minnesota.  He used to work on Disney cruise lines.  Not quite Tim Hawkins, but still pretty funny, and a lot less expensive.

The next day was Emma's actual birthday.  Instead of a cake, she just wanted some peanut butter cookies.

Yum....

This is Emma's special cat plate that I got in Door County
 a few years ago.  (I bet you're so jealous, Craig.)

Happy 16th birthday, Emma!  = )