My birthday week vacation 2013-finale

Friday was the last full day I had with Becky and family.  It was my birthday, as far as the kids were concerned.  I woke up and came downstairs that morning to find these fun embellishments:

Becky made biscuits and chocolate sop for breakfast.  The sop is her Mom's recipe.  Becky is from TN and she is a great cook.  The sop is basically icing -YUMMY!

Becky asked me what I wanted to do - just the two of us - for my birthday.  She had mentioned that Once Upon a Child was having a sale and she needed some things.  I had never been there and had heard a lot about it, so I said that's where I wanted to go.  Daddy graciously offered to watch the kids as we had some girl time, which was fun.  I love the kids like they're mine, but it is great to have grown-up time, too. :)

Once Upon A Child was having a $1 sale.  We ended up getting 75 pieces of clothing for $75! Here is the total before discounts:

Here is the total after discounts - for 75 pieces of clothing!

We got brands like Gymboree, Lands End, Janie & Jack, Old Navy, and Gap.  Our best find, though, was a Hanna Anderssen dress - with tags still on - that was for Christmas.  It was a shiny silver with a embroidered waistband.  So cute.  That dress alone, full price, would have been $75 easy!  Yet we got 75 pieces for that price!

When we got home, we gave Bethany the pleasure of trying on the girls' clothes first.  Emily is big for her age so she and Bethany can almost share clothes (except Bethany can't wear Emmy's pants, they're too short).  Bethany was thrilled.  She separated the skirts from the shirts from the dresses and went to town trying the outfits on.  She was so excited.  She went down the hall every time to show Daddy the next outfit she had on.  I love this pic because it captures perfectly the mood of the moment.

I went upstairs to lay down to try to get rid of my headache so I could enjoy thoroughly Becky's handmade lasagna dinner and the wonderful dessert I knew was coming after.

In between dinner and dessert, we went to the store, because Aunt Sarah always lets the kids pick out something they would like.  True to form, Emmy had to set up the chairs as soon as she saw them.  She said, "they're the perfect size!"

They're hard to see in this picture, but Emmy found some reading glasses and had them on.  They were so big she had to hold them on.  It was too funny. :)

After each of the kids picked out something they wanted, we headed back to the house for this:

Bethany really wanted me to have at least seven candles because she is six and I am MORE THAN SIX. In the end, Mommy and Daddy convinced her I only needed 4.  Becky's TX sheet cake was AMAZING.  I enjoyed it on my actual birthday two days later, too, because she sent me home with the smiley face piece.  Thankfully the TSA doesn't consider cake a liquid! :)  YUMMY!!!

Right after this picture, he brought the plate up to his face and licked it clean!

It was such a great birthday and ending to a wonderful, relaxing and fun week. I am so thankful I was able to spend time with these dear friends.