Mystery Adventure #4

Off we go, again! Damon is holding his Pizza Hut passport for this Mystery Adventure. Apparently the BookIt program is getting a little crazy in its old age and there are passports now that you can fill with stickers and games. Who knew? Benefits of having that third child, I guess... now we know!

Some of us were delighted to see the first snowflakes of the year pelting us as we headed out of town. Some of us were considerably less so. Blech. 

It can snow on the penguins and polar bears all it wants and it can add my share. I'd be fine with not shoveling again, ever. However, since we live where we live, I guess I'll just have to suck it up and deal with it.

Anyway, off we went to meet up with our friends for a little window shopping before the heart of the Mystery Adventure. We got to goof off in a fancy mall with Annika, Charlie, Noah, and their parents, Sharon and "Dao". For those of you who are trying to keep everyone straight, Noah is two weeks younger than Carrie, Charlie was born in October like Liam but is a year older, and Annika is the brave girly one who puts up with our not-very-girly clan. Dao ran sound for our wedding and went to OSU with Dada. We met Sharon at our wedding, adored her, and were in on Dao's wedding proposal to her when they came out to visit us in Oregon. It's safe to say we've been friends for a looooooooooooong time.

*insert mental pictures of kids in awe in Spencer's, testing out camping chairs in the sporting goods store, riding escalators, begging for candy from the chocolate shop, and so forth as I forgot to take any mall pictures here*

And then it was time for the real Mystery Adventure, which was a 40th surprise birthday party for our buddy Dave!

Blessed by a true servant's heart, Dave was surprised all right. It was fun to reciprocate some of the goodwill he's bestowed on so many others throughout our years of friendship.

"Heeeeere's Dave and the way he does the hula..."

That's a long-running joke from Dada's college choir, and Dave sure didn't disappoint. Dave has also been a friend for forever. We really get a kick out of his wife, Jennifer, who we are getting to know as they have just been married a bit over a year. She has a contagious cheerful spirit!

Apparently I didn't get any pictures of the Elusive Annika, but here are some faces to put with names:

Can you tell it was a game day? Charlie is my buddy in that he always roots for Penn State. Carrie also approves.

Another of our dearly beloved families arrived; Manoj and Priscilla and their three lovely daughters are more people we never get enough time with.

The party was in a rather small room that was bursting with good cheer and folks loving on Dave. There were tons of kids, so there were plenty of shenanigans, including silly string, which actually was a grown up's idea in the first place. 

Happy birthday to Dave, thanks for a great party, Jennifer, and it was super seeing our buddies! Successful Mystery Adventure #4! We love you all.