A Weekend of Birthday Wishes

Our nephew, Terrin, turned 9 in June. As a middle child, he enjoys a fair amount of attention. So, instead of the typical birthday present, we told him that we would celebrate his big day by taking him to dinner and a movie. He seemed pretty excited about our little proposal.

Fast forward a few months, and I decided that it was high time that I made good on the promise. While Dave was gallivanting in the back country and climbing Mount Baker, I invited Terrin over for a weekend of fun times and belated birthday merriment.

After picking him up in Snohomish, we stopped at RedBox where I let him rent some movies. Because he couldn't decide which one to pick (and they are only $1 per night), I splurged and let him rent 3... you should have seen the look on his face at that announcement!

On the way home, we swung by PartyCity and picked up a dozen balloons. I let him pick out the colors, which again thrilled him. And I was amused as we tried to fit him and the balloon bouquet in the backseat of the car... hilarious!

Delivering the balloons at the house (so that I could actually see out the back window), we zipped over to an early dinner at Red Robin - which is Terrin's favorite place to eat. I ordered the tortilla soup, which is great and he asked for the clam chowder, which surprised me but he let me know it's his "favorite"! Dinner was followed by a free hot fudge sundae - who doesn't love that?- and a lilting rendition of one of Red Robin's many birthday ditties.

As we continued with our weekend fun fest, we drove west to Mukilteo to visit the beach and newly remodeled waterfront park. Terrin played on the unique, new playground toys, collected shells, skipped rocks and avoided getting his shoes wet from the foamy tide, while I tried to capture a beautiful snapshot of the sun setting behind Whidbey Island. Terrin took a spin as photographer for a sunset picture of me too - unfortunately, I didn't make it into much of the picture. :) Oh, I should mention that Dave took our camera on his trip, so I was left with a disposable 35mm. As you will see, this resulted in grainy, low-quality pictures, but it was all part of the Great Birthday Plan.

After the sunset, we raced home. As the sun dipped behind the horizon, I had realized that the balloon launch would have to happen that night, rather than in the morning (oh yes, I know that I try to cram too much in a short period of time). Although a bit rushed, this was my favorite part of the night... oh, and I think Terrin enjoyed it too. He wrote nine birthday wishes, which included wishing his mom & grandma speedy recoveries and good health, his future children success in their careers , and a cool computer game from Santa. We attached the wishes to the nine balloons, headed for an open area and began the launch sequence. As the wish-laden balloons lifted and twisted into the muted sky, I smiled.

After watching a funny movie, I blew up our double-decker air mattress and he settled in for the night. In the morning, I made his favorite breakfast of (turkey) bacon and eggs and we spent the rest of our time making and decorating birthday cupcakes, which he made for each member of his family. I dropped him off at home, where he grinned from ear to ear as he proceeded to tell his parents about all the awesome things we did to celebrate his birthday. Each of them eagerly snatched up their homemade cupcake creation as they listened to his tales.

Best of all, I know he will remember his Very Special 9th Birthday Celebration... and I can rest-assured that this birthday present won't be broken or lost by the end of the week!