Michael is THIRTY!

This photo I took tonight may well be my favorite.
Michael is sitting beside his best friend, Jeremy.
In Michael's hands is the birthday card from his twin daughters.
Michael is explaining that he can always distinguish their writing.
"See this tight squiggle right here? Alyssa wrote that. Leila has large drawings with big loops."
I was so touched with his fatherly attention to such a small detail as their drawing styles!

This is my favorite photo of Leila!
At first, she was staying in Chelsea's lap,
but eventually she started sitting briefly
in the empty chair between us.
By the time the cake came out, she was staying
in the seat of her own accord.
She even accepted the sprinkles and icing off
my piece of cake!

I really like this three-generation photograph, too.
Pure serendipity that I ended up with it!
That's Alyssa, there in the middle, and she was the
one I was focused on.
Her mom, Melanie, is on her left, next to Michael.
To Alyssa's right - photo left - is Melissa, mother
of Melanie and her maternal grandmother.
Right there, three generations!

Just where was this party?
At Sapporo's, a Japanese place in Pooler with a
truly unique dining style.
For a flat fee of $20.99, you order whatever you want
on the menu, several dishes at a time, and you continue placing orders until you're satisfied.
One menu, one price, period.
Lots of unique sushi rolls, too, like this Crazy Monkey,
with banana in the center and crab on top!

How did the birthday man make out?
Well, his mom and stepdad gave him a "Star Wars" card with four mini-cards within, each hiding a pun and a bit of money.
You betcha that made the rounds!
His friends gave him the Steam Powered Giraffe tee-shirt and goggles (over his green-like-mine sunglasses!) - and I love their music, too!
He also received a new bona fide case for his "Magic The Gathering" cards and figures, as well as some new treats to put in the case. He was trying to explain the game to me and I must say that I like a game that requires you to have no more than seven ideas at a time and kills you off when you have no more ideas - pretty nifty!

I gave him this "Star Wars" trilogy which I had received from Mama and Frank on my 40th birthday.
A 10-year-old Michael had asked for it and I had promised I would give it to him on his 40th.
Clearly, I rewarded him a full decade earlier!
He was delighted, as this was the 1995 box set - the original films, before all the crazy edits began.
Yeah, they're VHS, so I may need to give him the VCR-DVD player I have - no worries there!
(smile!)

Thank you, Melanie, for including me on the guest list!
i thank You, God, for the inspiration for his gift!
(smile)