Today began with the sound of the boys running and giggling downstairs as I laid in my nice warm bed upstairs.  Jake is off all week, so we were able to have breakfast as a family before heading out on an adventure.  I had been telling the boys we were doing something fun for my birthday and they were anxious to hear what I had planned.  We loaded into the truck and headed to Ft. Snelling.  As we drove south, we saw the light rail trains going up and down the track.  We told the kids we were going to take the train downtown.  After purchasing tickets, we waited for the next train to arrive.  Once on board, we played musical seats until we found a place to sit & hold on to the stroller.  As we rode along, the boys enjoyed looking out the windows & watching the buildings pass by.

We unloaded downtown and walked briskly to our destination…Macy’s.  Once there, we found the elevator bank and headed up to the 8th floor.  The 3 littles were famished, so they gobbled down cereal bars before heading in to see what A Day in the Life of an Elf looks like.  We visited the display on the perfect day…no lines & people were casually strolling through.  We didn’t feel pressured to rush and weren’t bumped around by strangers.

When given the choice between visiting Santa and going to lunch, the boys chose the later.  They’ve gotta be the only two kids I know who would rather eat than share their Christmas wish lists with Old St. Nick.  So off we went to find something to eat.  (Well, with a brief stop at my old office on the way.  It was fun to see some of my old co-workers from my years working downtown.)  We ended up at D’Amico for lunch and afterward I grabbed a peppermint mocha from Caribou before we departed from downtown.

On our way back home, we made a brief stop at Minnehaha Falls.  The weather warmed up to about 50 degrees today.  We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day at the end of November.  The boys and I looked down at the falls and then made our way down a snowy staircase to take a look at them from below.  We snapped a few photos and then headed back to the truck.

Later in the evening, we hosted a group of family & friends for cake & ice cream.  My friend, Michelle, made the most amazing pumpkin torte!  Only one word to describe it – YUM!

To top off the night, my parents surprised me by showing up to join in the celebration.  They had been out of town and we didn’t expect them back until tomorrow.  But as it turns out, they kept their early return home a secret so they could wish me happy birthday in person.  It made my night!

Today was such a fun day; I think I might turn 29 again next year.  🙂