Feliz Cumpleanos!

What a celebration it was! Melanie turned another year older and Kyle made sure to do something special this year. He has officially redeemed himself from his lack of plans in previous years. :) We began the day without donuts though! That made for one upset momma! Melanie can eat donuts all day long and wanted them for her birthday breakfast. Kyle finally admitted that he had thought about running out to get some, but he confessed that he didn't because he didn't want to be tempted to eat any of them. (He has been doing well working out and keeping off the weight, so I guess that's a legitimate excuse.) What went through Melanie's mind though when she heard his reasoning was, "Really??? C'mon...it's my birthday for crying out loud!!"

Anyway, then Kyle shared his plans for the evening. He said that he was going to make reservations for us to dine at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. At first, Melanie was a little hesitant because that restaurant is pretty expensive. But, as the day went on, she couldn't stop thinking about how great the meal was going to be.

Well, when Kyle returned home from work later that day, he shared some bad news. When trying to find a number to make reservations at Ruth's Chris, he was shocked to find out that they had closed down their restaurant here. BUMMER! We both worked down the street from that place a few years ago. We were sad to realize that we wouldn't be dining there after all. Kyle managed to find another steakhouse on The Strip though that had some great reviews.

We dropped Bryce off with some friends as we spent this special night together celebrating Melanie's birthday.
We at on the 24th floor at a hotel/casino in the downtown area of the old strip. We were able to see all of the valley from our table. Off in the distance we saw the temple as the sun was setting. It was a fun sight to see as the sunlight faded away and the bright lights of The Strip and valley lit up.

Our steaks were amazing and we were amused as we eaves dropped on the conversation happening next to our table. Two elderly couples went on and on bragging about the places that they've stayed at and which hotels they've vacationed in....it was almost as if they were trying to one-up each other.

After we finished dinner, Kyle seemed a little perplexed. He finally shared with Melanie that there was supposed to be a flower arrangement waiting for us on our table when we arrived, but it still hadn't come out yet. Melanie felt bad that his special plans were not coming to fruition. So, he went to find out what had happened. Soon after, the flowers were brought out, quite late, but that was alright. Melanie then was surprised with a huge slice of yummy raspberry cheesecake and a brief solo of "Happy Birthday" from our server.

After wrapping up at the restaurant, we headed off to pick up our little Bryce. It's also worth mentioning that Kyle bought Melanie an awesome birthday gift. He might have been a little more excited than Melanie when he came across a great deal to purchase a Silhouette machine. To say the least, we are both excited to create some fun projects together! :)

Melanie was so grateful that Kyle had gone through many hoops to plan a special birthday surprise this year. It's about time we did something out of the ordinary for birthdays! :)

Random photos of Bryce: His bruise after having a drawer land on his head. Not too bad, right? :)

In the zone while watching his favorite show, Yo Gabba Gabba. So cute!