Happy Birthday to me!

Well, internet, I've had a great birthday. And now I'm going to talk about it. And you're going to listen. And you're going to like it. Or else.

The saga really starts yesterday. I am working in DC for the summer and staying with my brother Sam, his wife Mollie, and their three kids. I got off the airplane yesterday and when I got in the car I asked the boys how they were. Noah (3) immediately said "We made a poster for your birthday tomorrow!" Sam reminded him that it was supposed to be a surprise, and not to mention it any more. On the way home, Sam asked the boys what they wanted to show me first when we got home (as a tour of the house). They wanted to show me their room first, because that's where my surprise poster was. Again, Sam reminded them that since it was a surprise, they weren't supposed to talk about it.

We get to the house and Sam shows me around a little bit. We get to the kids room and Noah runs to the closet and points out to me the secret poster hidden there. Ah, kids and surprises. They're as bad as Dad.

Today I woke up not feeling particularly 24. I just wanted to relieve myself and brush my teeth. When I left the bathroom, Harrison (5) and Noah were standing outside the door with my poster. Only Harrison wanted to be in the picture, but they were both there.
Now, you can't see this (because I took a bad picture) but the poster is cut outs from Spiderman and Iron Man coloring books. With happy Birthday written in the corner. Actually it says Iron Man Happy Spiderman Birthday, but the names are just in there in case I didn't know who they were. It was very sweet.

After breakfast we went to church, where Noah demonstrated that he learned what most of us guys didn't learn till we were teenagers: that church is way more fun if you fall asleep while somebody scratches your back. Way to be ahead of the curve, Noah.

For my special birthday dinner, we had hamburgers and corn on the cob, which were both great. And Mollie made me a fantastic birthday cake.
Those of you who can count will notice that there are only 16 candles on this cake. No, I did not turn 16 today. We just didn't have enough. I tried to explain to the boys that each candle counted for a year and a half, but I think all they cared about was what was under the candles. Sam told them that we wouldn't eat cake until dinner was done, dishes were cleared away, and we had sung Happy Birthday.

When everybody was done, Sam and Mollie both had to walk away from the table for a bit, and Noah asked me why we weren't eating the cake (this question had been bothering him all afternoon). I told him that we had to sing Happy Birthday first, and he looked at me with the most desperate, pathetic puppy eyes I have ever seen and tried his hardest to sing, but only got past the first "Happy Birthday to you" before trailing off. He told me he didn't know the rest and started staring at the cake and slowly edging toward it, as if waiting for me to say it was enough.

Sam and Mollie came back and the boys sang again with some parental support.

As you can see, their main focus is on the birthday boy.
Harrison was trying to sing hard enough to blow out the candles so I had to cover his mouth to avoid eating too much spit. As soon as the song was done, though, the boys blew out most of the candles anyway (good thing I already knew what my wish would be), and I finished off the last 5 or 6.

I got some great presents, but the people interested in reading those are the people who gave them, so I will spare the rest of you the bother of wishing you had as awesome of a family as mine. Thanks, everybody!