Thanksgiving 2018...

I snapped this picture quickly on my phone November 1st. The sign said, "If it's not Stove Top, it's not Thanksgiving." The day I took this pic, I ran to the grocery store near Noah's school. Right before I went to pick him up, before school let out. I zipped in for another pack of taco shells, I was making tacos that night. And worried about not having enough taco shells. So picked up another pack of those and some coconut yogurts for breakfasts for me. And I was pleasantly surprised to see this sign. And tower of Thanksgiving helpers in a grocery store. It was a surprise. So much so, it took me off guard enough... to snap this picture and also it was deeply comforting seeing this at the same time. Again, I haven't been in my home country...for a full year yet. It'll be a year from April 2019. But, I think those of us... who have lived a great number of years in Japan. Over the years, we get used to *not* see Thanksgiving everywhere and anywhere. Do you know what I mean? Like in my tiny town of less than 5000 people in the town I lived in...in Japan. I was used to being the only American family in my town. And I pretty much... didn't alter or change myself because I lived in Japan. I still went to Costco and bought our Butterball turkey. And I still made Thanksgiving for my family. Because I was the only American person near our kids... and I wanted them to grow up learning both cultures. Japan and America. Was it sad... being the only person roasting a turkey on turkey day in my town in Japan? Honestly not at all. I knew I lived super far away from all my friends in Japan. And so, I kept it family. And made a Thanksgiving meal... every year for our family. After 16 years in Japan, I was so used to being the only family in our town celebrating Thanksgiving. I never saw my stores in the Japan inaka sell turkey stuff. And duh...it was Japan. A totally different culture. I accepted that. And was cool with it. Now that we're living here. And most everyone is American. I no longer need to be sole ambassador of American culture to my kids. Does that make sense? And there was turkey talk... all November. There was Thanksgiving mentions at Target...at every grocery store. It was a little surprising yes, but in a good way. All November, as I'd make grocery runs. It felt so cool, to see families with great big turkeys in their shopping carts. After a while...it just brought a smile to my face. That wow...I am living among like minded people. It's deeply comforting. It's amazing. I love it! My kids were with me at the store many of the times too. And my kids were like...look they're buying a turkey. Of course we were quiet and stuff about it. Or we'd nod our heads like...look! look! LOL. So yeah...the feeling of Thanksgiving living in the United States? Omg, it feels amazing. My kids school, the day before Thanksgiving. That Wednesday, all grades and schools in our school district... let out at 10:50am. Wednesday. Why? Because of Thanksgiving of course! Teachers need to prepare and bake pies and prepare too for their homes. : ) And spend time with family. And of course no school on Thanksgiving and of course no school on Black Friday. So the kids had no school from 10:50am Wednesday and did not return until this Monday. LOL. It made me laugh... because yes...that's how important a holiday it is to Americans. And that is how I grew up too. And while in Japan, my kids had to go to school on Thanksgiving. Because rightfully so...it's not a holiday there. This year...first time in their lives...they were on a "real" American school schedule for Thanksgiving week. And they were surprised. And enjoyed their time off. 

We bought our turkey on Sunday, and defrosted it in the fridge from Sunday. It was 18.30 pounds. 

A Butterball of course. 

Thursday morning, I rinsed the turkey early. And made a herb butter seasoning rub and I rubbed the turkey under the skin and on top of the skin. And wrapped him up, in tin foil. 

Cool Whip was 89 cents a tub. We used 2 for the pies and 1 for hot cocoa. The other is in the freezer.

I made fruit salad. With being in Japan and having no access to Cool Whip, I didn't make this in 16 years. This year, I made it. 

It was delicious.

Such a nicely seasoned, juicy and crispy skinned turkey. 

Mashed potatoes. Crescent rolls for days. 

I wanted to buy Thanksgiving plates. Because cute and easier on the cleanup. However...I apparently waited too long to buy them. They were sold out everywhere. @_@ So...lesson learned. However the food was delicious. And we finished the turkey on Saturday. By that time we were dead sick of the turkey. 

They always run American classics on Thanksgiving. From the morning. The kids and I watched The Godfather 1, 2 and 3. LOL. Yes, we did, just keeping it real. The kids loved it. Those movies are long! And in the evening, They had another American classic. The Wizard of Oz. We enjoyed some pumpkin pie while watching this. 

I bought the pie crust from Marie calendar's at the grocery store this year. Only because they were just $2 bucks. For 2 crusts. And since I have no pie pans here and rolling pin. I thought...ehhh. For this year...why not. Target had zero pie pans. Near me. My Safeway store had them, but for $6 bucks each? No way. Outrageous. I did however make the pie filling myself as always. 

Every grocery store around here was closed for Thanksgiving. Because workers need to spend time with their family on this important holiday. So, I made sure I had sandwich stuff for leftover turkey sandwiches, beforehand.

Another weird fact. When I was growing up in America, I loved any loaf of bread. I loved Wonder Bread. Safeway brand. Any brand, was fine. And then I move to Japan. And was really used to the delicious Japanese bakery bread. And then I move back here and am shocked that most breads here taste strongly of chemicals. Was it always like this and I just never realized or did the recipes change? @_@ I have tried like 12 different brands. My old favorites growing up, I tried them all again. They all taste like chemicals. I finally found this brand and it says no chemicals or anything. Anyways...I like this bread. Is it as good as my favorite Japanese baker bread? No. But it's pretty good. So this is what we'll use for now. Anyway, I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving, if you celebrate it. : ) 

Veterans Day...

Sunday, November 11th. Was Veterans Day here in the United States. Raising both my boys in Japan. I felt like I did a pretty good job of raising them about their American culture. Since they were being raised in Japan and getting Japan culture daily. We had backyard BBQ's and stuff on the 4th of July. We had Thanksgiving every single year. But now that we're here, I see how much I left out. Granted....I did my best. I'm not perfect. I did my best. But yeah, with living here. They're getting a strong American influence daily. They're now learning and celebrating things, I often fell short teaching them. So, it's just interesting to me, seeing what my kids are learning. How their world view is perhaps changing a bit. Here and there. Case in point, Veterans Day.

All last week, I was getting messages from Noah's middle school. That any parent or grandparent that was a veteran. Were welcome to show up on Friday November 9th to be honored. They would have an hour long assembly Friday morning from 8am-9am. And the kids would be out of school early in honor of Veterans Day. 10:50am Friday for Noah. And Branden's high school let out last Friday at 11am. In honor of Veterans Day. And the kids in our school district were off school yesterday Monday, again in honor of Veterans.

Kids were asked all week to show up on Friday in something red, white and blue. To show support of the veterans during the assembly. And every kid who wanted to get their face painted in our American flag colors were...gladly painted by teachers. All the boys were given this design and all the girls had a different style painted on their faces. I was curious all morning, how Noah was enjoying his very first Veterans assembly.

Remember, every single morning, Noah starts school. He pledges allegiance to the flag of the USA, along with the rest of his class and school.

I waited in my car Friday morning at 10:50am. And a happy Noah hopped in my car with very patriotic face paint. I asked him, "how did you like the assembly today?" He said he loved the assembly. And they thanked the veterans for all their service.

The kids also loved having a 3 and a 1/2 day, extended weekend. 

Bits and Pieces...

Today's just a little... bits and pieces type post. Do you remember a few posts down, I mentioned that I was looking for 2 navy blue twin fleece blankets for B and Noah's beds for both their rooms. And I found them, some really nice Tommy Hilfiger nice navy blue ones for a super cheap price at Marshalls. Anyways, I was also looking for 2 chocolate brown fleece blankets in size twin too, for the couches in the living room. That way, they protect the couch material, plus they make the couch extra warm and cozy. So I have been looking everywhere for chocolate fleece blankets. And couldn't find anything local. So, I found them on Amazon. They were around the same price as the navy blue ones. The color was a dead on... exact match. As for quality? The brown ones are thinner than the ones I saw at Marshalls. But, they do protect the couch and they are cozy to lay on. One thing I liked was the free shipping. But one thing, I didn't care for was... that if you order 2 you didn't get free shipping. But, since I was concerned if the color was a match. I bought just 1. I got free shipping and I was happy they were a dead on exact match in color. 

Can you see the chocolate brown fleece blanket on the couch? It's a perfect match in color. And the thick fleece black blanket I brought from Japan and bought at Sanki. Love the quality of the blankets at Sanki. Anyways, just a little way...that we're slowly getting prepared for winter and the colder months. I still have to order that 2nd chocolate fleece blanket from Amazon. 

I also bought each of the boys a pair of super cheap (price) but super good quality sweatpants. See it says, feel the softness? Inside the sweatpants... it's so warm and fleece-y. They were like super cheap. Noah's is a size mens small. And fit perfect. Both of the kids wear them in the evenings after school and on weekends. They're also a slimmer fit, these are a more flattering more stylish style than the olden days type. My kids love them. A definite...happy Fall purchase. 

$195 dollars. Yep, Noah went on the Tommy Hilfiger website and confirmed that's the rate/price, if ordered online directly. Noah needed a new winter coat this year. We've been checking everywhere. In Japan, it's Uniqlo. No questions asked. He loves those coats. Because they're thin yes, but super warm. Versus American coats being super thick. Like the Michelin man. Yes, we have Uniqlo in the USA and yes I can order online. But I am unsure of Noah's size and won't buy, without us having a try. When we were looking for birthday sweatshirts for B. Noah was also in the men's department looking for a thin winter coat. He kept saying...nope...nope...no way. He did the same thing at Burlington Coat Factory when Noboru was here and it drove us both nuts. But again...at least he knows what he wants and knows what he doesn't. He saw this. Grabbed it. It was super thin. See it says packable? On the label? There's a little carry bag same as the Uniqlo coats too.

Clearly I'm not gonna spend near $200, because I'm not insane! The coat was a fair...near Uniqlo price at $59.00. I'm comfortable with a coat costing under $65. So, this fit the bill. Noah tried it on. It was perfect. Thin, but super warm. Room to grow. Finally! Noah's winter coat saga was done. As a mom, I was elated. Because that means, I am free. No more coat hunt. Phew.

$59.99 With room to grow. Certainly couldn't find a more patriotic coat, by an American designer. And that was just...coincidence. 

Loved the quality and the detailing.

Noah is going to be quite stylish this winter. 

If you watched the Blacklist, then you will recognize this actor as being Elizabeth Keene's husband. How many times has he disappeared and or died and came back to that show? Anyways. I was talking to a good friend of mine on Skype , she's in Japan we talked about 2 weeks ago. Like the day after Noboru left. Anyways, she was saying something about the Blacklist. And how he's gone from the show, I watch the Blacklist too... but she was expecting him to come back again. And I...not wanting to spill the beans. Said...ughhh. And I didn't elaborate or add to it. And she is the type that doesn't really care. You know...some people go all mental if they find out a spoiler. Like it's their only existence to life. But some people don't really care too much. But still...I didn't say. Anyways...she said. Give me the goods. And I was like. You wanna know? And she's like yes. And I'm like...seriously? And she's like...stop girl...I'm serious. Spill. So...anyways. And don't read further...if you don't wanna know. But...I told her. He's the star of a new TV show right now. It just came out in September. It's a hospital drama. It's called New Amsterdam. It's on NBC. I told her, I saw 2 episodes and I liked the show. But, I have something that comes on at the same time. So, I am not a regular watcher of this show, but I think this show is popular. 

I love these garlic herb potatoes. They are mini white and red potatoes, they come with a seasoning pack. And in a tin foil pan. You add a blob of butter or olive oil. And sprinkle the herb mix. They also come in other flavors. It's weird but, I grew up eating potatoes or pasta as our staple side. Very seldom did we ever have rice in my house growing up and when we did, it was Minute Rice. LOL. And then I moved to Japan. And rice became my main side for dinners. And at first, I hated that. And then I just accepted that. And after many years, I mixed things up and made a lot of western meals. But, still..rice was the main side dish for the majority of our meals. When we moved back to America. I suddenly had many other side dish options and I was stunned. Anyways, I'm slowly going back to my original ways. And it's comforting. I'm starting to really love this. Yeah....I'm starting to really get comfortable with my life back in the USA. 

Love the already marinated seasoned herb chicken at Walmart. Roasted herb potatoes, good ol canned peas, oh how I missed the flavor of those and cresent rolls. A very easy to pull together meal. My kids love this meal, it's actually one of their favorites. But then again...they've had this American mother their whole lives. LOL. Their meals are becoming more and more western. We have white rice somewhere between 3-4 times a month, depending on what I cook. But, I still do make Japanese food too.  

There is the regular Chef Boyardee in the red or orange cans and now there's these. Premium throwback ones. And I've been slowly stock piling these. Just 3 cans a week. And keeping them in my food pantry. That way, they're a quick weekend lunch for the kids. 

One thing, I'm really having a hard time is...is being motivated to bake. Cooking? Yes of course... I cook 6 days a week. But baking. It's hard for me in the US to bake. Because there's just so much already offered at every grocery store. So many cheap/affordable baking that's there. For starters at Walmart they sell individual homemade pies, they taste like some grandma made them with love. And they have blueberry, apple, cherry, pumpkin, peach and they're 50 cents each. @_@ So again...why should I bake when you can buy a damn good pie for 50 cents. They sell bread pudding that is OMG...heaven. Pumpkin muffins. The most heavenly coconut cream pie. They sell regular size pumpkin and they also sell sweet potato pie. So many cookie flavors...I even forgot about. I find at the store and for super cheap. Again...it's hard for me to get motivated to bake... when it's so readily available. Does that make sense. In Japan...I baked every week in the Fall and Winter, out of necessity. Because no store close to my house... sold such delicious and such cheap baked goods. Hopefully...I can motivate myself to bake. So, again just keeping it real.

I have delicious 3 pounds of fresh seedless sweet mikans in my fridge, and 3 lbs of honeycrisp apples in my fridge too. And I buy fresh packages of fruit weekly like blueberries or fresh sweet raspberries.

I seldom buy anything for myself. But, I bought myself this cute navy blue sweatshirt from Old Navy. My clothes size have gotten one size smaller, since I moved here. I seriously think that's because of the lack of rice. 

One Sunday, I bought a $4.99 rotisserie chicken at Walmart. And I sliced all the meat off. Only half was sliced in this pic. And I made a quick and easy chicken noodle soup for a Sunday. It was delicious. The kids ate the entire pot of this hearty delicious rotisserie chicken noodle soup.

I also have been stockpiling fruit cups and jello cups. My kids love these. I always have a variety in the fridge here.My kids eat a lot of fruit here. Fresh fruit, fruit cups. They're delicious. Noah especially likes to toss the mikan fruit cups in the freezer and eat them...just like they were shave ice. 

I'm really iffy if I shared this pic or not. But, I wanted a spoon holder, for when I'm cooking. But the trouble is...sometimes it's a spatula or wood spoon and I needed something bigger than a smallish spoon holder. I saw this at the end of September. And it brought a smile to my face. And I use this daily now.

At $3.99. Love this.

Fall flavors are everywhere. Pecan pie M&M's.

Pumpkin Spice rolls. Again, I'm starting to really appreciate being in my home country. Being surrounded by foods, that I grew up with. Flavors that I was raised with. It's sorta cool. It's very comforting.

I snapped this pic one afternoon before Noboru came here. I zipped to Great Clips to get myself a haircut. It was my first haircut... entirely in English in 16 years. I take my kids here every 2 weeks. But, wow...it was so fun getting my hair cut in my native language. I hadn't had my hair cut since March 2018. After my cut, I zipped to Target to grab lunch. Since Pizza Hut's inside. 

A drink and a personal pan. This particular day...I had such a spring in my step and I was like...I am so glad I am living in America. Yeah...I'm adjusting...big time! I'm creating a life here.

Like I said, I haven't had a haircut since March 2018 and I haven't had a hair straightening size March 2018 either. And my hair is naturally wavy. Not curly. But yes...naturally wavy. I could have gotten it straightened at the end of July in Japan. But, I made a conscious decision to go back to wavy. To own it! My mom always threw my hair in hot rollers on important days like picture day, since I was in the first grade. I distinctly remember her putting kleenex near my ears and forehead if a roller was near there. LOL. Hot Rollers tamed the wave and created amazing volume. And so since I'm going back to wavy...I bought these super fat 2 inch hot rollers. And I love this set. 

Karaage pic. 

I am glad that my tastebuds didn't change so much with living in Japan. Because I love these. With teens in the house, I try to keep healthy snacks like fruit in the house and also junk food type snacks too. It's a balance for them since they're kids/teens.

Anyways, any current news? Well, I made lasagna this week. Beef stew last night. Last night, was parent teacher conferences at Noah's middle school. He gets fantastic grades. So, I wasn't really expecting to hear anything major. But each teacher basically said the same thing. He's an extremely respectful kid. He's super polite. He's smart. He's kind. He does all his assignments and work. If a parent wanted to speak to the teacher, they could. It was 7th grade teachers in the library. 6th grade teachers in the gym. And 8th grade teachers in the school cafeteria. So, depending on which grade is where you went. I went to the library. Spoke to each teacher. We parents all made lines and spoke to the teachers. Teachers had laptops and looked at their grades and notes. I brought Noah with me. And he heard the feedback himself. It was from 4-7pm. We dropped B to driving school at 3:50pm and zipped to Noah's school. Talked to all Noah's teachers. And were home by 4:50pm. Some lines moved quickly and some lines took longer. I'm glad I went. Tonight is going to be crazy. Because I'll pick up Noah from school. We'll wait for B to get home. We'll have supper. I made Japanese beef stew last night (already said that) and we will have leftover beef stew tonight. So we'll quickly eat dinner. Drop Bran at driving school. Noah and I'll run to Target to get some stuff for a poster Noah's working on in his langauage arts class (English class) And then after B gets out of driving school at 6pm, I'll zip us all the way to B's high school. Conferences are from 4-7 at his high school. I wish we could attend earlier. But, B has driving school. And, Noboru wanted Branden to be there and hear the feedback and I agree. So, I just hope we can get to the high school in a quick and timely manner. Now that daylight savings time happened and clocks fell back on Sunday. It's pitch black outside so early now. So, I imagine I'll be driving in total darkness to the high school, this evening. : ( Conferences are optional. And since their grades are good, I debated going to them. But I think I should totally go. And Noboru agrees. I don't want it to look like my kids have parents... who really don't care about their progress. Do you know what I mean? Because we do. We do care about the progress they're making and we do care about their grades. 

Next week is Branden's final week of driving school. And tonight, he and his classmates are taking their written part of the test. @_@ He has his 4th drive with instructor this Saturday. And his 5th drive next Friday. And the 6th drive will be his actual driving test. But that won't be until closer to Thanksgiving or past Thanksgiving. 

I did vote. As you all know, I vote every single election. I was a registered Colorado voter the entire 16 years I lived in Japan. I did that online. And I voted for the first time in this state. I registered to vote last Spring when I applied for my drivers license. In this state, you don't go to the voting booths like in Colorado. It's strictly mailing in your ballot. I mailed mine last Wednesday. I voted for every democrat, I could. 

There are 2 movies that are coming out in December that I want to see. Aquaman is a must! And Bumblebee looks cute. And since my kids watched all those Transformers movies. I figured...what the heck...might as well finish this series up. Although it's probably long from finishing up. But ykwim. November, which is right now... has many movies. The Queen movie Bohemian Rhapsody came out, last week? I want to see that. Also, that Fantastic Beast movie is coming out next week. Also that movie...A Star is Born with Lady Gaga came out 4 weeks ago? I know this is the 3rd time this movie has been made. The original. And then the 2nd one with Barbara Streisand. And this one is the 3rd remake of it. So, eh. I'll skip this one, but it has rave reviews. So, I'll probably skip The Girl in the Spider's Web that just came out and skip A Star is Born. The remake of the Grinch, I'll skip too. Only because having seen the cartoon a million times. Plus the one directed by Ron Howard...made with Jim Carey. That was good. So this one, I'll probably skip it. Although Benedict Cumberbatch is the voice of the new Grinch and he's always brilliant. The Nutcracker and the Four Realms isn't for a mom with 2 sons, it would probably bore all 3 of us, to death. So, maybe we'll just see...Bohemian Rhapsody, this month and maybe Fantastic Beasts 2...maybe.  

Happy Birthday Branden...

Branden turned age 17, October 26th! Considering, I started blogging in the year 2005! You all have virtually watched Bran grow up, since age 4!!! And ya'll have seen Noah grow up his *entire* life, since he was born in 2005! It's no wonder that for many of you. You feel that we're family or a close friend that you get to keep an eye on virtually. You've seen all our ups and all our downs. And all the bumps in between. But seriously, can you guys believe B is 17 years old? Sincerely, thank you for always reading and caring about us. Branden needed more sweatshirts with the cooler weather coming. And so, I drove Bran to Marshalls and also to the shopping mall and he picked out stuff in his style and stuff he liked.  

Bran picked up this Japanese style sweatshirt at Marshalls. I think it was $14. He loved it. At the mall, we hit Old Navy and he went straight for these super warm fleece men's cardigans. They were around $35 bucks each, but on sale, I think originally $40. They look... sorta like a "grandpa sweater", dykwim? But it's updated...and this is modern now...I have seen many stylish young dudes wearing this style now days and plus they're not like itchy wool, that means hand washing and stuff. It's fleece, so super easy toss in the washing machine. So a modern update for this men's cardi. He picked navy and gray. So 3 new sweatshirts for his birthday. 

Plus, please consider he got a huge birthday gift of getting to go to driving school and considering driving school costs $400. Yeah that price tag shocked us, as parents. But, he was super happy about getting to be in driving school. Apparently mostly every state now days makes you... take drivers ed. Granted back in my day? You could take drivers ed at school. But it was optional. It gave you a cheaper insurance rate for your car. But drivers ed was not mandatory. And you could pay $5 bucks to get a drivers permit in Colorado back in the day, if you passed the written test and then 6 month's later, pass the drivers test and pay a small fee of $20 dollars for a drivers license. So considering it was *so* cheap in my day...this $400 stuff, shocks me. But maybe that's just how it's done now days. Also, we purchased Bran's homecoming outfit too. Which was a shocking $165 dollars. I went to homecoming all 4 years back in the day, myself. I bought a dress for $60 dollars, maybe some accessories and that was basically it. Homecoming is supposed to be cheaper than prom. I never realized sons/boys have such expensive stuff to buy. Bow tie was $40!!! Plus dress shoes, dress socks. Vest. Dress pants, dress shirt. OMG! Thank goodness Noboru was here for that, to help us shop for teen guy stuff. Let's just say, October, with homecoming, plus a birthday, plus driving school. Holy crap! Glad October is done. Let's put it nicely like that. 

Noboru told Bran, he could pick any restaurant for his birthday. That we could go and eat as a family of 4, before Noboru went back to Japan. B picked the Red Lobster. Noboru and I were secretly hoping he'd pick The Outback Steakhouse. But he picked The Red Lobster. Which is fine. It's his birthday. 

The 3 of us picked the Endless Shrimp. Noah.... disliking seafood completely had the chicken strip meal. 

Our server was amazing, he was a high school boy/guy and so funny. He had us all laughing. He kept bring out more and more endless cheddar bay biscuits. We all enjoyed our salads. Our sodas, which he refilled them so many times.

The first plate of shrimp wiped me out. I was done. I enjoyed my baked potato and shrimp (fried and scampi). Noah finished his meal and we both munched cheddar garlic biscuits. While we watched Noboru and Branden get refills of more shrimp. They both have such hearty appetites. It was actually funny to watch.

You can pick different types of shrimp, after you finish your original choices you picked. Bran picked the shrimp fettuccine and the panko shrimp as his refill picks. Noboru had the same as his first plate. It was a wonderful birthday dinner, best enjoyed together, as our family of 4. 

October 26th landed on a Friday, this year. Branden had expected dinner at home. Since he had a Drivers Ed driving lesson at 6:30pm that night. And since he knew we celebrated and went out to eat... when his dad was here. But, I had something up my sleeve. You know me. : ) Friday's the kids get out early. And our plan was to go pick up a birthday cake from Walmart and to buy our movie tickets for the next day. I had asked B, where do you want your birthday cake from? Baskin Robbins? DQ? Safeway? Where? We looked all month. The DQ cakes don't have actual sponge cake, just crumbles. So, Bran wanted the cake from Walmart. And I agreed, it looked best. But, before we went to get movie tickets or cake, I made a detour to DQ and we 3 had a quick meal of the $5 buck combo. It was just a little thing, but they were both pleasantly surprised. Which made me happy. They came with free sundaes too. So we were stuffed. Then we went to get the movie tickets, for the next day. And then we went to get his birthday cake. Many different flavors and choices and he picked the one he wanted.

Two layers of actual cake. And it was fresh and soft sponge cake...not...it's been in the freezer for centuries. It was super fresh. The frosting was really delicious light whipped cream. 

The cake was gorgeous. And the best part... it was only $14.99. A perfect price and we each had a slice Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I would definitely buy this cake again. Loved the freshness, loved the flavor, loved the price. When the time came, I zipped Bran to driving school for his lesson and he drove himself back home. It was a quiet birthday. Low key... which as you know, has always been our style. Stress-free birthday. But a nice one. Grandpa in Denver sent birthday money. And Noboru left him some birthday money before he left too. This kid feels loved, there's no doubt about that.

The next day, the 3 of us went to go and see Venom. This movie has been out in the United States for a full month already. I wanted to see it while Noboru was here. But Noboru was like.."it has horrible reviews" And so we didn't see it. As for me, I wanted to see it. Not every review on a movie, I agree with anyways. The kids wanted to see this too. How did we like this movie? We loved it! My kids were even still talking about it the next day. Granted, would I buy the DVD? Probably not. But, I'd see it again in the airplane. We had popcorn with extra butter and movie theater salt. We had large sodas and chocolate bars. We truly had a nice time at the movies. I would have taken them to the movie on his actual birthday but, B had a driving lesson. But yep, a great movie. And a perfect low key relaxing....super chill birthday.