It was HIS weekend!

And his being Nate!  Today, February 21, 2011, is Nate's 30th birthday.  He has entered a whole new ball game.  So, we say bring on the 30s!  And because of this big detail it was his weekend to call the shots and decide what he wanted to do.  Yep, I just sat back, didn't say a word and went along for the ride.  It was a fun-filled weekend and we were on the road a lot and Greyson was a little angel to say the least.  He just loves to go anywhere. 

So, with all that being said we started Nate's birthday weekend with some hockey.  He wanted to take us to a game and it was a lot of fun.  We just went to Rockford to see the Ice Hogs which is the farm team for the Blackhawks.  It was pretty cool and Grey really liked it (minus the mascot)....He really wasn't fond of the hog that was walking around the stands and every time it came by us Grey hopped up into one of our laps as fast as he could.  He loved seeing the zamboni between quarters and there was even a live band.  I actually think the band was Grey's favorite.  It was funny because one of the guitar players had long dreads in his hair and Grey kept calling the guitar player a girl.  lol!  He made it through the first half with the help of some popcorn and dots and by 9:00 we were all ready to call it a night and drive home.

This was Grey watching the hockey players warm up.

Grey and daddy......

Grey was too busy watching to take a pic with me

The ZAMBONI!!!!

The lights went off, the music went on, and then all the hockey players came storming out....

We were even in team colors (not planned I promise)

This was the live band that Greyson liked so much and this was the guitar dude with the dreads

We got home from the hockey game by about 10:30......Grey was sound asleep so I just transfered him from the carseat to his crib so it worked out good.

The rest of the weekend (Sunday Morning) was still in full swing starting at 8am............the car was fully loaded with diaper bag, snacks, DVD player, and some toys and we were on our way to Chicago to see Nate's brother (Uncle Just) by 8:30am.  Nate wanted to meet up with Just and go for breakfast, hang out downtown for a bit, and then on the way back hit up Bass Pro Shops.  And that's just what we did.  We had breakfast at The Yolk, followed by some shopping for me, and got to spend some quality time with Uncle Just.  We had a really good time.  It was rainy and cold so we couldn't really "walk" around and I didn't get any pics up in Chi-town because the weather was so crummy:(  Of course, I had my camera all packed, so I was pretty bummed that I didn't take any pics up in the city.

On our way back from Chicago was the big stop at Bass Pro Shop.  I was hoping Nate was going to get his North Face shoes that he wants, but they didn't have his size.  So, he's just going to order them.  I did pull out my camera here.

Grey just couldn't contain himself once he saw all the 4 wheelers..... i think he had to crawl up on all of them

Then it was onto the boats.

Greyson was all about those as well...

I think I was the only one in the store with my camera (lol!)

Grey was a little scared of the bear...

and he thought the waterfall was the coolest thing ever.....and the kid has been to this store many many times....I tried to set my camera on a setting to make it look the water was "really" falling here -did it work?

After Bass Pro Shop, it was time to head home.  Dee Dee was having a little birthday party for Nate so the Ernat household was our last stop of the day.  Now I have to let you in on some bad news before I get to the actual birthday party.  The Ernats have two little dachsunds.  They got Murphy as a puppy and Uncle Just rescued Jake from a shelter.  Well to make a long story short, Jake has not been feeling good.  Basically his heart was ballooning and there was nothing that could be done for him.  Deb took him to the vet last week and they said there was nothing that could be done, but he could snap out of it or he might pass.  It was just kind of a waiting game.  Well after about a week, Jake kind of got bad on Saturday.  He had stopped eating and going to the bathroom and his breathing had become very labored (if you will)...So, Jake did pass away Sunday at midnight.  Deb thinks he had a heart attack.  He was in bed with her like he always is and he passed away.  SO it was a sad day at the Ernats today.  Jakey Boy, we will miss you buddy!

We tried to get pics with the dogs last night...

Getting our last good bye's in with Jake.....once we saw him last night we just knew...we all had a good cry...

Nate also put in an order for RIPS last night, so he was the King of the table and enjoyed his 1/4 light, greasy fries, and that good ol' piece of bread that sits at the bottom - you know what I'm talking about!  Nate thinks that's the best.  And after dinner, this was the ice cream cake that we all indulged in.

All the GOOD stuff with a cherry on top!

We sang and we sang and we sang....you know the drill we just kept singing until all the pics were taken.

Kisses and wishes for the best daddy a kid could have...

Then after cake, we tried to get all the family pics that we could...

You really have NO idea what a goofball Auntie Mims can be!

Right before we said good-bye to Jakey Boy!

So as you can see we've been busy busy busy!  We took today off to relax and chill at home.  We made a stop at the grocery store and that's about it.  Nate picked his birthday dinner and so tonight it's just the 3 of us.  We'll be sure to let you know how it turned out!

Happy 30th Nate!  Happy 30th Daddy!