January 11th, 2017

Happy 22nd Birthday to my Michael Richard!! 🎉🎂🎁🎈🎊 I love you more than I'll ever be able to express.

Today, unfortunately, Michael started his day heading in to work rather early. :( Although I was disappointed he had to work, it did leave me with plenty of time to prepare everything for when he got home! I started my day off going out to pick up some last minute things I needed for baking. Once I was home, I got right into things. Weeks ago I had gone to the store to get party supplies for today and had decided on a Disney theme. I figured it was quite fitting since we're going to Disney World in 27 days and Mike has been pretty excited about it. So, that being said, I wanted the desserts I made to fit the theme!

I made Mike a white, vanilla cake that I tried to dye red, though it ended up looking more pinkish. I covered it in red fondant and added a yellow stripe at the bottom (Mickey's colors). On the top I cut out a large Mickey head. I also added Michael's name. :)

In addition to the cake, I made cupcakes. I was super excited because I had found this awesome recipe for "hidden Mickey" cupcakes! It wasn't nearly as hard as I expected, but I was definitely anxious when I pulled the cupcakes out of the oven. I of course had to wait until later when Mike came home to see the finished results, so I was pretty worried as to whether they turned out or not.

Once I had finished baking, I started decorating the house. In the front of the house by the stairs, right where he'd walk in, I put the huge Mickey balloon and the "22" balloons. I put balloons on the banister to the stairs and also hung up a large Mickey-themed "Happy Birthday" banner. In the kitchen I hung these dangling, streamer-like decorations all over the ceiling. More balloons were put up too. The table I covered in a red tablecloth and I set the table with yellow silverware and plates. I had found an adorable Mickey and friends centerpiece, which I built and placed in the middle. Mickey-themed confetti was also scattered atop the table. :)

I finished literally in the nick of time, because Mike came home just minutes after I finished decorating. He walked in after a long day at work and smiled all huge when he saw all the decorations. He was totally surprised and said he hadn't expected to see so many fantastic decorations! Mike showered and changed before the family headed out to BD's Mongolian Grill for dinner. Dad was away in Springfield for work and Zack was away at school, so it was just me, Mike, Jax, Mitch, and mom. Dinner, as usual, was delicious. Mitch had never been to Mongolian before and was super impressed with how tasty his dish was. The waitress gave Mike the traditional tinfoil birthday hat, which the boys thought was hilarious. And of course he got a birthday sundae.

After dinner we headed home briefly to "change" as I told Mike. But actually, we were picking up our friends Kevin and Tommy, whom Mike had no idea were coming. Mike was real happy to see the two of them, so it was definitely a great surprise. We all loaded back up (minus mom) and then headed out to Laser Quest in Downers Grove. We played a round of laser tag and it was so much fun! Laser Quest's arena has two floors, which makes things even more fun. Kevin placed best out of us all, ranking 7th out of 25 overall. Mike was next, at 10th. :)

After laser tag, we headed back home for cake and presents. We sang our traditional three-part birthday song (the traditional, the catholic, and the Polish), which Mike now knows and loves (he even makes me sing the Polish version at other people's houses, lol). The cake was delicious, which I was super happy about. Mike loved it so much he had seconds. :) And my cupcakes? They turned out PERFECT! I was so ecstatic. Everyone was super impressed and wanted to know exactly how I had made them. I was pretty proud of myself, to say the least. ;) 

After cake we did presents. My gift to Mike was tickets to a Green Day concert in March. Green Day is one of Mike's absolute favorite bands. Needless to say, he was thrilled. He thanked me again and again for everything. The day went so smoothly and flawlessly. Everyone had such a great time together! Plus Mike said it was another perfect birthday, which is all I cared about. ❤