Birthday "Treat"

After the program, we needed to get some dinner.  Gramma Pat had made it down for the program, so the four of us headed to Little Mexico.  Camden wanted to get some flan or fried ice cream (we rarely order dessert).  Kevin mentioned we should have told them it was my birthday, but it was already past.  That's right...it was only 2 days before.  Hey, I'll wear a silly hat for a minute to get free dessert!

NME Christmas Program

We just attended our last elementary school Christmas program.  Camden looked beautiful.  

The school has undergone a renovation over the summer and fall semester.  The official ribbon cutting/dedication was at the start of the program.  The two little elves were adorable.  The fourth and fifth graders were on the stage, so Camden is in the picture (taking from the local paper) sitting to the right of the superintendent in the black suit.  She is in an orange t-shirt...and biting her nails. 

In the past, the Christmas program was only done by the 2nd-4th graders.  Since the 6th graders moved up, all the programs throughout the year are now school-wide events.  The place was packed!  It was nice to have the kids spread out on the side bleachers (new) and the stage. We always like to sit in the balcony for the best views.

Sticking with the building renovation theme, the program had a construction twist.  Several of the older kids were selected to be workers (hence the orange t-shirts) and had parts throughout.  

In one song the workers (and some of their classmates) used huge tubes to accompany the singers.

She is on the other side of the piano, sitting down, because she had the littlest tube.

At one point the construction workers blew a fuse.  Camden had a small part of this (although she will tell you the Mr. Chadd turned off the lights).

Camden is so Camden...the bounce makes me laugh every time!  Once the lights were out, the kids sung the crowd favorite, "Light the Candles All Around the World."

 
The program was short and sweet (less than 45-minutes)...just perfect since we were on bleachers!

Ancestry.com

My birthday gift was a DNA test kit from Ancestry.  It was on a big sale and just sounded fun to get done.  

The kit was nicely packaged with everything needed and simple instructions.

 
The only hard part was filling up the spit tube!  You weren't supposed to drink or eat (or smoke) for 30 minutes prior to doing this.  I did it first thing in the morning and my mouth was dry.  It took lots of effort, but I got it done.  Then I had to put this cap of blue liquid stabilizer on the tube and shake them together.

Then put the tube in a protective bag and put in the addressed, postage paid box.

Should get the results in 4-6 weeks.

Birthday Dinner At Home

On my birth date, we had dinner at home.  Kevin grilled steaks with roasted broccoli, potatoes, and corn.  I was going to make a dessert, but Camden saw this small cake at Kroger that afternoon...and I liked taking a nap over baking.  

Mt. Fuji

I selected to go to this hibachi restaurant for my birthday.  Camden had never been to one before and Kevin and I hadn't been in close to 10 years.  It was still a bit run-down, but the food was excellent.  Our chef was fantastic and we laughed and laughed.  Couldn't ask for much more on my birthday than to enjoy a fun dinner with my favorite people.

He did the "normal" tricks, but we truly enjoyed it.  The egg roll and throwing it up and cracking it on the edge of his spatula.

He made an onion candle and sang happy birthday.  It created quite the flame!

Then he showed Camden how to make a rice heart "cake" with a candle.  When they sang Happy Birthday (again) to me, he had the heart beat.

Camden approved of her teriyaki chicken, vegetables, and fried rice.

Then he had Camden show how she would work the grill (wish we had asked while he was actually cooking - a kid about her age at a nearby table got to do the egg cracking trick).

When he was done, he said he needed a picture of us too with his miniature camera.  We all smiled...and if you look closely, you can see that he squirted Camden with water.

We headed to Faith church for the Living Nativity, but while waiting in a long line, got a call that Gramma Pat had been in a fender bender.  We headed over to the mall to make sure she was okay.  Camden didn't say much until we got to the accident and she couldn't get out of the car fast enough to make sure Gramma was okay and give her a hug.  Her big heart was so worried (and then thankful that everything was fine).

Main Street Amusements

We celebrated my birthday on Saturday night in Lafayette.  Our first stop was to this shop in downtown.  Kevin and I loved arcades when we were young teens.  I had heard this place was filled with old pinball machines and some of the classic arcade games - Pacman, Centipede, etc.

It did not disappoint.  The owner repairs the old machines in the back of the store.  Some are used in his shop; some are sold.

The three of us enjoyed tons of fun.  By the time we left the place was crowded!

A Blue Streak

Camden has been wanting to properly color her hair since the Race fiasco.  I stopped at Sally's last night to get some shampoo and she saw the spray tints.  I let her pick one.  She requested her whole head to be done, but I just did one thick streak at the front.  She loved it!

Next time I'll wash her hair so it's good and clean (she did it last night and it's not always as good as possible), do it more all over, and brush through it so it doesn't look so "helmety."

Date Night

Camden headed to GaGa's after school so we headed for dinner out in Rockville.  The courthouse and tree looked so beautiful.

Happy Birthday

Camden and I (and apparently Ginger, too), bought Kevin a few railroad items for his birthday this year.  We are redoing our 1/2 bathroom and it will include these lovely pieces.

McCord's Candy Cane Tour

McCord's is one of five places left in the US that still make candy canes by hand.  They also give "tours" of the process at the store.  Aunt Carole and Gramma Pat meet us on Saturday to see it.  These are very popular so we didn't make it into the noon tour.  We headed down the street to a few shops and to the Christmas market that was happening.  We ran into Santa.

Dickens of a Christmas was also happening downtown with Carolers and readers at various locations.  We stopped to hear a bit of a reading.

Then back to McCord's for a 1pm tour.  It is on the third floor of the building.  You enter into the "red door" and then have to go up a winding staircase to the kitchen.

The candy stove and equipment are close to 100 years old...lots of candy has been made on them.  McCord's used to make most of their candy in house, but now just their toffee, caramels, and candy canes.

First stage is bringing the liquid to a boil and cooking it to the right temperature.

Then it's poured onto a granite slab that is coated in Crisco.

The candy maker works the liquid until it cools, changing to a more solid consistency.

She then works it by hand, adding more air bubbles by stretching it.

At this point it is ready for the pull, where it is stretched and worked until it becomes white.

Meanwhile, a portion of the goop had red coloring added to it and was stretched by hand to incorporate it and get it to the correct consistency.

Every step takes 2 candy makers (they like it when there is a third!).  The white is shaped into a large block while the red (kept warm by a heater) is made into 1 large and 3 small ropes.

The white block is put on the large red one, then the three small ropes added on top.

The candy makers then stretch it out, rolling it to get it to the right size.  It is pulled down the counter where it is cut into 9" lengths.  No tape measure is needed...there are groves in the wood counter at the 9" marks from years of making these candy canes.

These small ropes are still slightly warm and can be shaped into canes (or whatever you would like).  Camden used her and my rope to make a heart.

There is nothing like these canes.  A store bought one doesn't even compare - and having a slightly warm bite was even better!

All three generations can now say they grew up enjoying McCord's candy.

Camden can't wait to come back and enjoy a milkshake from the soda fountain.  She doesn't remember that we have been here before (in 2010 and 2011).  But 7 years is a long time!