Happy Birthday Rick!

Well, Rick turned 40 this week...It took two cakes to hold all the candles!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY RICK!

I wanted to do something really special for Rick...seeing as his 40th birthday doesn't just come along every day! So I booked a surprise long weekend trip to Atlantic City, NJ. Rick spent about 8 years in NJ (age 2-10). He and I hadn't been to NJ since Jackson was about 6 months old...so it was time to go back and show the kids where their daddy grew up!


The plane ride was uneventful...Emma was thrilled because she got snacks, a soda and colored on the tray table in front of her! We stayed at the Sheraton...across from the Atlantic City Convention Center. The hotel was a key location for the original Miss America Pageant--they had ball gowns, tiaras, etc on display...Emma thought it was where Cinderella lived! In fact, there was a statue right outside our hotel that you could stand under and look like you were being crowned...


We got into Atlantic City about midnight on Friday and the first thing Rick did was order a pizza! Near the end of the weekend, I realized that all we'd really eaten on the trip was pizza, cheesesteaks, hoagies and salt water taffy!

Saturday we went to the Atlantic City Boardwalk and the beach. Rick and Jackson played in the waves most of the day...I even joined them for a while!
Emma liked the sand but didn't like getting in the ocean...the waves were too unpredictable for her. She sat on the beach with a bucket of water next to her so that she could constantly clean her hands and rid herself of the sand in between her fingers...AND WHO'S CHILD DO YOU THINK SHE IS????

We spent a lot of time with Rick's sister, Sherri and her family! It was great seeing them! Saturday night we went to Sherri's house for a home cooked meal--guess what..no pizza or cheesesteaks! It was all delicious! We knew the party was over when Rick started singing the "banana song" and he fell backwards in his chair! I'm still tempted to post this on utube..who knows...Rick might become famous and end up on the talk show circuit!

Sunday we drove to all the places where Rick grew up...his grade school...where he played football...his house on Fischer Ave...It was so funny because Rick and I were totally into sight-seeing and the kids were like, "Are we done yet...I'm getting car sick!". Oh, how the tables turn...I can so remember being a kid and hating to "drive around" with my parents!

We spent the rest of the day at Ocean City Boardwalk...they had a whole carnival for the kids--I think we spent more on the carnival rides than our airline tickets! They had a blast!

Monday, we got up, checked out of our hotel with the intention of going to Philadelphia to see the Liberty Bell before our flight left...Needless to say, we got totally lost...Jackson was like, "Where are we going? What is the liberty bell...Whatever"...so we just ended up going to the airport!

All in all, it was a great trip! I told Rick I thought he smiled more in this one weekend, than he has all year long! It was great to see him so happy and I can't tell you how great it was to just spend time together as a family!

Check out the slide show...and enjoy!