HAPPY 33rd BIRTHDAY, SYLVIA!

Another year has gone by and we are planning another birthday party for Sylvia. Gosh, could it be March 12th again . . . where does the time go. Bet she is wondering that too!

Michael and Sylvia decided to come to Portland again this year to celebrate Sylvia' s birthday. She wanted to get out of the little town of The Dalles and come to the "big city", Portland, to celebrate her birthday. On the way over to Portland on Friday the 12th, she gave Crystal and Doug a call to see if they could come up to Portland, from Salem, to celebrate Sylvia and Doug's birthday together. Doug and Crystal are their friends from Salem, Doug's birthday is March 12, also. Much to our delight, Crystal and Doug were able to make it up to Portland. Sylvia and Michael arrived at our place Friday evening and we had a nice visit while waiting for Doug and Crystal to show up.

After they arrived, we all went to Nonna Emilia's Restaurant, where they serve authentic Italian food, for a birthday dinner. We arrived and found out there was a 45 minute wait for a table, so we went to the lounge and relaxed with a drink while visiting.

We were seated quicker then they had said, so we took our drinks into the dinning room with us and ordered our dinner. What a great restaurant, delicious food and plenty of it for everyone. After dinner we returned back to our place where we had some birthday pie, and continued to visit until time for Doug and Crystal to return to Salem. Sylvia prefers not to eat cake, so Rocke and I made her a "Birthday Pie", Chocolate Meringue, one of her favorites, for her birthday.

Saturday morning, Sylvia and I went to the mall to do some birthday shopping for Syvlia. Michael shopped for some items for their upcoming vacation, and Rocke stayed back home to relax. He called Ross to see if he and Austin could join us for a cookout later in the day. Heather was not able to join us, as she was visiting a friend in Las Vegas. Much to our delight, they were able to join us.

After getting back home from shopping, we all sat around and visited. One of the items Michael had purchased was a tent for their upcoming camping vacation to Utah, Arizona, and Colorado. He took some time while we were visiting to see how fast he could set the tent up. Besides, this would be a great time to check out the tent to see if it would be big enough for them. Soon, we all were out there watching him. When it came time to take it down, Rocke and I decided to leave that job to Michael and Sylvia. After all, they are the ones that needed the practice.

Just about the time Michael and Sylvia had the tent down, Austin and Ross arrived for the cookout. Everyone jumped in and helped with the cookout and we all enjoyed a delicious meal. Ross and Austin visited a little longer and finally had to leave as it was getting close to Austin's bedtime. Michael and Sylvia decided to return to The Dalles, so that Michael could have a day at home to relax before going back to work on Monday.

What a wonderful birthday weekend!