Saturday...

So Happy!

When G saw this picture he said "ooooh... there's my handsome Owie!"

Saturday morning, we met Shane and Krista at the Mall of America and just bummed around for a little while before meeting Eric, Laurie, Owen and Gavin at the MN zoo. Gavin was so excited to go to the zoo with everyone - he especially couldn't wait to see the "really, really, really big bears!" We spent the day just hanging out. The new African exibit was fun to see, Gav really wanted to feed the giraffes - so we got in line, only to have them close it just before we got to the front of the line. That made G pretty sad... but nothing a little ice cream snack from auntie "Laurlee" couldn't fix. Ice cream really does make everything better! The boys had a blast playing with Krista in the park area - Gav even made her go down the slide, and of course, she obliged - those aunties never say no to him! After a long, hot day - I was pretty ready to head to bed early... but my family had other plans. I was shocked to enter Eric and Laurie's house to a huge "SUPRISE!" birthday party with all of my friends and family there! I still can't believe Bryan kept that from me since February! I'm especially impressed Laurie didn't give it away - she's not the best at keeping secrets! (love ya laur!) We had such a great time - and it was so good to see everyone again. Gavin had a blast playing with all of his cousins at the same time - plus Garett, Connor, Jack and Katy! The party was absolutely perfect and I couldn't have asked for anything more. THANK YOU to everyone that put so much time and effort into planning a party to celebrate me - it was pretty amazing.