Happy 40th Birthday Mel-Mel!!

As we mentioned earlier, it was a big month for 40th birthdays!

Cousin Melanie turned 40 on Wednesday, November 9th, but the weekend before, we headed to Maggiano's (an Italian restaurant) for her SURPRISE birthday party! It was a wonderful time to see our family and celebrate a woman that we love very dearly!


Here's a video to show you just how surprised she was!



It won't surprise anyone who knows Melanie to hear that she had a Mickey-themed birthday cake. But check it out...she had TWO of them...Mickey AND Minnie!


They had live music, so Carson and Jackson took a little time away from eating to do some "dancing" in their seats...



Since we don't all get together very often, we took a few minutes to snap some family photos.
The cousins (we were sadly missing Suzanne)...

Charlotte, Allan & Anna (the "siblings")...


And, of course, the great-grandchildren: Jackson, Hannah & Carson (we were missing Stephen & Zoe)...

It was pretty late by the time we left (around 9:30), so towards the end of the night, we changed Jackson into his PJs. However, that did NOT keep him from having fun! We couldn't believe the boy was moving, much less laughing and playing.

We know the night was really about Melanie, but Jackson seemed to think it was all about cousin Holly. We've never seen him have so much fun with someone! Hilarious...

Jackson ended the night on a high note when he got to bring home his very own balloon. Thanks, cousin Melanie, for sharing!

It was a fantastic night that we'll always remember. Cousin Melanie is moving to Florida soon, so we won't see her as often, which makes us sad...But we'll be planning a trip very soon!