Michaela's birthday and Mother's Day

We helped Michaela celebrate her 8th birthday this past weekend with a party on Saturday at Chuck E. Cheese in Newark.  Somehow we've managed to avoid Chuck E. Cheese for the first 6 and half years of Lauren's life, so it was her first experience there.  Lauren had a blast and enjoyed the experience.  After the party, Mariah and Michaela asked if Lauren could go home with them and spend the night.  So off she went in Aunt Marie's car, and spent an evening with cousins.  A little birdie told me she didn't go to bed until 11pm way past her bedtime.

The next day, Mother's day, Lauris suggested we have a barbeque at our house and invite Marie and her family, and that way they could also bring Lauren home at the same time.  It would also give the girls a chance to play on the trampoline and swing set, along with our new puppy, the McNab/border collie mix that Lauris adopted a few weeks ago.  I was able to contact my aunt Cathy and uncle Tao along with my aunt Lih-Ping and convince them to come over as well, so we ended up having a large family gathering for Mother's Day.  It was nice gathering, and everyone got a chance to catch up.