Joseph's 38th Birthday

Since I usually explain characteristics and current hobbies of my kids on their birthdays, I thought that I better do that for my husband this year.  At 38 years old, here are Joe's favorites:

*Diet Coke and Diet Mountain Dew
*McDonald's McRib Sandwiches (seasonal)
*Watching all sports and talking stats and plays with Clark
*Playing games on his phone
*Serving in the Young Men's organization (going on 4 years now)
*A delicious, perfectly cooked steak at an expensive restaurant downtown
*Eating out (if he had his way, it would be every night)
*Watching James Bond movies
*Researching anything that interests him or that he is shopping for
*Buying guns and ammunition (new interest)
*Getting kisses and hugs from his wife
*Working at the base with his best friends
*Working in the "real world"
*Making bread   
*Date nights with his wife
*Watching Gold Rush, Pawn Stars, American Pickers, car shows, and Duck Dynasty
*Bowling
*Wearing Adidas work-out clothes to work
*Buying cheesy T-shirts
*Wearing nice suits
*Loves to be in the operating room and hates going to meetings as "Flight Commander" 
*Driving his Camaro
*Relentlessly convincing his wife about his buying "needs"
*Camp-outs with the scouts
*Falling asleep with his computer or iPad on his stomach while watching TV
*Taking naps whenever possible
*Shopping at Adidas
*Loves Germany and anything related to that country
*Shopping for shoes
*Buying anything and spending money
*Chocolate ice cream cones 
*Going to Target, Costco, Nordstrom Rack, and the outlets

We celebrated Joe's birthday when he got home from work.  He opened his gifts and then we waited for Marci and Justin to drive into town so we could all go to dinner.  We thought it would be fun to go to the Geisha House but there was a really long wait so we all headed to Thai Basil.  We all love sushi, curry, and pad thai so it was the perfect choice and tasted so good.  

 He really wanted some Dr. Dre Studio Beats headphones. 

 A watchbox for his watches and other manly jewelry

 The Mission: Impossible box set in Blu-ray

 I love all of his facial expressions as the kids are banging his head.  They are so mean!

 A nice, new, casual, wool jacket

 And he's already plugged in and ignoring us!

After dinner we came back for a chocolate-banana ice cream cake that I had ordered from Cold Stone.  They have the best banana ice cream and Joe loves chocolate and banana together.  He also loves Kit Kats which they just placed on top.  This made me laugh a bit because when I ordered the cake, they explained that there would be crushed bits all over, not just chunks around the outer edge.  It was still yummy though!

 Happy Birthday, Joe!  Thanks for being the best dad and husband.  We love you so much!

Black Shopping Weekend

Friday we decided to head down to the state line at Primm for some Black Friday shopping.  We grabbed lunch at In and Out Burger and then hit the Primm Outlets.  We had the boys in our car and they knew every word to every song that came on the radio.  They were singing at the top of their lungs and we couldn't stop laughing.  After shopping, we stopped at Buffalo Bill's for the boys to ride the roller coaster, Desperado, and the rest of us went on some of the rides inside the casino.  The log ride was actually kind of fun.  You are given a gun and during the ride you shoot the various targets and animatronics along the flume.  Most of the targets were broken because the hotel/casino is really run down but I bet it was a great place to stay back in the day.

 Our singers

On the way back, we stopped at Bass Pro Shops to see the mermaids in the large aquarium, visit the shooting gallery, and check out the gun supply (Joe is into collecting guns right now).  Santa Claus had arrived and there were lots of holiday activities for the kids as well.

 The kids loved interacting with the mermaid.  She was petting the stingray, writing messages on the glass, blowing kisses and bubbles, doing flips and turns, and "talking" to the kids.

 We went outside and climbed on the razors and dune buggies, acting like race car drivers.

When we got home, Matt introduced us to a new show, Duck Dynasty, and we watched and laughed hysterically at several episodes.  Then we went to bed.

On Saturday, the boys wanted to see the Pawn Shop from the hit TV series, Pawn Stars.  We checked that store out and then the kids decided that they wanted to go back and swim for the rest of the day. 

 

That evening, Matt, Carrie, Joe, and I met up with Matt's parents (who were here on a vacation weekend) at Hofbrauhaus for dinner.  We then took them to see the Bellagio fountains, saw the world's largest chocolate fountain at Jean Phillippe, and grabbed ice cream.

Thanks, Matt and Carrie, for spending Thanksgiving with us.  We had a great time with you this weekend like we always do!  Love you guys!