The Greatest Birthday Weekend EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So of course, while we were on the coast, we did other stuff, too.
On Friday, we had a birthday dinner at the Rain Forest Cafe in Galveston. It was very fun, and very fancy. They put sparklers in the dessert!

The staff sang to Lydia, and she seemed just delighted.

After dinner, we went on the Rainforest boat ride together. Here we are in the boat.

We spent the night at a hotel right on the beach. Here is a view of the beach from our hotel.

This is a view of our hotel from the beach. We're in the second room from the right. It was great.

So, as you know from previous posts, Lydia and I spend the morning on the beach.

About now you're probably thinking, "wow, this is the best birthday ever! What could possibly top this?"

Two words: Pony Rides! It's true. The weekend we were in Galveston happened to be the weekend of their annual Children's Festival. There were all kinds of great activities and crafts for kids. Lydia made "sand in a bottle" art, she went on a moon walk and gian slide, we fed animals in a petting zoo, and Lydia had her first pony ride.

But Wait, There's More!

We left Galveston early Saturday afternoon, and headed to Kemah. Our first stop was our hotel, a lovely new Days Inn. I learned an interesting fact at the Days Inn. They were founded by a man named Day. That was his last name. I'd always assumed it was named after the unit of time you were likely to stay, but no.

In any case, Brit and Guthrie checked out the beds while Lydia and I got all gussied up for the big birthday celebration. You see, Lydia and her Gan share April 1st as a birthdate. So, we met Gan, Grumps, Gigi and Aunt Mandy at a very nice seafood restaurant on the Kemah boardwalk for dinner.

Here, Guthrie and his grandfather enjoy the ocean view. This was Guthrie's first real view of the Gulf. (Other than looking our the car window, of course. Remember, he and Brit didn't join us on the beach in Galveston.)

Aunt Mandy, Guthrie and Lydia enjoy some bread while we wait for entrees.

Our waitress showed Lydia how to filet a fish. Our waitress was awesome!

Lydia and Gan were presented with lovely and delicious birthday desserts. Mmmmmm.

After dinner, Lydia rode the Ferris Wheel with Grumps and Aunt Mandy. In this picture, they are in the car at the very, very top.

Lydia and Emily concluded a perfect evening with a ride together on the carousel.

It really, really was the BEST BIRTHDAY EVER.