Mom Turns 70

Recently, both of my parents turned 70. To celebrate, we wanted to do something special for both of them. Since my mom lives within driving distance, we planned a surprise visit with the help of Kevin. We met up with them in Springfield, MA, at one of their favorite restaurants, a German place named The Student Prince. Even though we arrived a half hour early to find a good hiding spot in the back, we almost got caught as we turned the corner of the street the restaurant was on since my mom and Kevin were just opening the door. I yanked Lucas back around the corner and then we waited a few minutes for them to settle in. Luckily, they were at the bar so we snuck around behind the bar, and with my mom's back to me, I walked up and asked them for their drink order. My mom turned around to answer, and when she saw me, she just about screamed. So mission accomplished! The surprise worked!

We got the waitress to take a picture of our whole motley crew. Family friends Nancy and Bobby joined us shortly after we arrived, in case you're wondering about the extras. As you can see from the background, the restaurant has quite a bit of character,

A nice one of Lucas and Grammy.

And an abnormal one, as only Lucas can do it.

Back at the house, the king rests on his throne.

Birthday cake time! (that's their neighbor Kyle in the background)

During our visit to Webster earlier in the summer, I bought a foosball table that was on clearance at a great price ($30). I didn't have time to put it together then so Lucas begged me on our first night this visit to build it. I got about halfway through the first night and then completed it the next day. We decided to have a foosball tournament, and I think everybody had a good time. I may be a little biased since I was undefeated, and my closest score was 10-2. :)  Seriously though, a fun time was had by all. I think Kevin was just happy it wasn't a board game.

And that was our whirlwind trip to Massachusetts. In the next post, I'll cover my dad's trip to Ottawa.