happy birthday scott!!

Yesterday was Scott's birthday so we did a few things to celebrate this weekend.

A few weeks ago, when I asked Scott what he wanted to do for his birthday, he immediately answered, "go on the Wendover bus". So I (along with Scott's best friend, Chad, and his wife, Katie) surprised him with a trip to Wendover (on a bus, of course) on Saturday night. We had a really good time, but it was a VERY long night for all of us. We didn't get home until 5am!!

The Casino we went to was called the Wendover Nugget, hence the name on the side of the bus

On the bus & getting ready to go (we got on at the first stop, so we were the only passengers for a while)

When we first arrived, we went to the buffet restaurant (it was free with the bus ticket). Later in the evening we passed another restaurant in the casino that had this 10-layer cake in a display window. I was so full from the buffet that it didn't even sound appetizing, but I was still in awe of its size!

In a courtyard at the casino we found this gazebo, so I forced Scott to dance with me like we were Bella and Edward at the prom (with me on his feet, of course)

After the buffet, a few dollars spent at the slots, and getting smoothies at Starbucks (also free with the bus ticket), we walked across the street to another casino called Montego Bay. It was a totally different atmosphere and vibe from the Nugget so it was fun to experience it. It was really dark, with accents of blue and purple lights and had kind of a tropical forest theme going on at the restaurant. This is a pic of the bar that was all on ice, it looked really cool.

Scott was very proud of his three 7's on the slot machine -- I think he was up $2 at that point.

Finally at 2am, we were back on the bus and headed home..

Yesterday morning, Scott's brother Steve (who stayed with our kids so we could go to Wendover) made french toast for all of us. Then we gave Scott a cinnamon roll with a candle in it so we could start the day by singing to him.

Last night we had a few friends over for a police-themed party. I had fun coming up with ideas for food and decorations and everyone seemed to have a good time, including Scott. I wish I would have taken more pictures (especially of the cops and robbers game turned water balloon fight), but there was too much going on all night I just completely forgot.

This is the "crime scene" that my brother-in-law set up in our driveway (thanks Steve!) -- there's a chalk outline of a person but it's kind of hard to see in the picture

This was the food table (thanks for the help Shannon & Kara!)

My friend Kara made these adorable beehive badge cookies (the UHP symbol is a beehive)

Scott always has to have carrot cake for his birthday, but I tried to make it fit the party theme by making it look like a giant doughnut

Although I didn't take any more pictures, the house was decorated with yellow police tape, inside & out, and Kara brought over several life-size traffic signs (like the one below & also "STOP" & "NO PARKING"). We were also able to spend part of the time outside on our new patio and lawn for the first time with company -- it was so exciting! Thank you to everyone who came and who helped to make it a fun and special night.

Happy Birthday Scott, WE LOVE YOU!!