Every year, the girls and I have our little tradition on my birthday. We go out to a restaurant (we all have to agree), pick out a cake at the supermarket (with buttercream frosting; absolutely no whipped frosting is allowed in our home), and for the girls to pick out presents for themselves at the store. This has evolved into a very fun tradition that we all look forward to. With me being deployed though, just like our Christmas cards, it looked like it might not happen this year. Thankfully, their Mom was very supportive of my request and kept our annual tradition going.
After talking to their Mom, I sent the girls a letter with the instructions “Do Not Open Until February 26th!” Inside, the letter included instructions for celebrating my birthday, as seen above, and that I was going to pay for it all. The letter also included money for the cake and the presents, while stating that I would pay their Mom back for dinner afterwards; Elaina did not seem to abide by the instructions on the back of the letter, as she was waving the money around during our FaceTime call a few days before my birthday. They were pretty excited that it was still happening and were already brainstorming what they wanted to get as “their” presents.
They ended up choosing [The] Olive Garden for dinner, with their Mom letting me know that Elaina now has a larger appetite than what kid’s meals can provide. After stopping by HEB to get the cake (with buttercream frosting… of course I asked), they headed to Five Below to get their presents; in lieu of a single, larger gift, they went with several smaller items. And while I was getting pictures throughout the event, the (buttercream) icing on the cake (pun intended) was a video of the girls singing me “Happy Birthday.” While I certainly could have imagined a better birthday, I could not have dreamed up a better one while deployed. Girls, thanks for keeping our tradition alive and for the birthday wishes. Hope the cake was as amazing as it looked.
Thanks for checking in on us.
Cheers!
Adventures in Single Dadding 