Happy Birthday Mom and George!

In George's family there is a tradition that you are supposed to celebrate your Birthday before the actual day (as opposed to after) because celebrating after is bad luck. Today was George's only day off, so we decided to drive up to Ashburn to celebrate his birthday that happens on the 14th and his mom's birthday that happens on the 12th.

It was fun to be with his family, even though George only got to stay for a few hours. We drove up after a baptism that George spoke at this afternoon and went out for sushi with his family.

Sushi never disappoints. George's parents were watching Callie and Bryce that night because Jen and Eric were at a concert so it was really fun for Lance. Not as much fun for the adults who had to keep reminding the kids to stay in their seats and keep their voices down. :)

After dinner, we came back to the Glass's house for cake. So, the story behind this cake. I wanted to make George a Birthday cake and had him find the cake he wanted. He found a great recipe off Food Network and I set to work this morning. I made three tiers, but because we were in a hurry to get to the baptism, I neglected to shave off the domed top of the second layer and simply iced it and placed the third layer on top, assuming the weight would flatten the dome out. I was very, very wrong. By the time the baptism was over, the third layer had cracked completely down the middle to the filling and was slowly sliding off the sides. By the time we got to the Glass's house the top layer was completely off, leaving a crumby, melty mess underneath. I cleaned it up the best I could, but was left with this:

Yum. A puddle. It really was a tasty cake, but the presentation left it a little wanting.  I'm excited to try it again the future. Valuable life lesson learned: always make sure the top and bottom of each layer is flat before you stack.

The kids all helped put the whole package of candles on the cake for George and his mom to blow out. Lighting them was a process undertaken by the Birthday boy and girl.

And of course, after we sang all the kids helped blow out the candles.

Lance and I went out a couple days ago for him to pick out a gift to give George. The gift he chose?  An Ironman toy he'd been trying to convince me to buy for him a day before. After George opened it, it didn't leave Lance's hands until we left for my mom's house around 10:30 p.m. I got him a shirt that had a quote from Arrested Development, one of our favorite shows. It was a lot of fun!

George had to drive back down to Charlottesville so he can work 6:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. tomorrow. The boys and I decided to stay up in Ashburn because Stephen gives his welcome-home address at Church tomorrow. Hopefully he'll get a good night's sleep in a quiet house. He deserves it!