Happy Birthday Merinda

Merinda's been asking to go on a road trip with me pretty much the whole summer and also mentioned that she wanted a surprise party for her birthday this year. It was a little bit of a stretch, but I did both for her her 19th birthday. I told her I wanted to do a little shopping in Lexington with her but drove to Cincinnati instead.

We then did some shopping at Target and then the Mall.

I asked what I could buy her for her birthday and apparently it's always been her dream to build a bear so that's what we did. After choosing her bear, it was then stuffed.

She then picked out it's heart,

Made a wish,

and placed it in her bear.

She then named the bear (Elliana or Ellie for short) and printed out her birth certificate.

She then picked out a cute butterfly outfit and matching ear bows and dressed her bear. 

And her childhood wish was granted (I aim to please!)

After the mall we checked into our hotel which was ultra-modern, and located at Newport on the Levee (yeah, one of my personal favorite places). 

We then ate at Tom & Chee's which was Merinda's choice for dinner.

After dinner we walked around Newport and took some pics of the Ohio River and Cincinnati skyline. 

Merinda couldn't smile because "the sun was so bright" even though it rain on us several times.

I just think she wasn't happy about the pictures since she really didn't get ready for the day (even though that morning I told her that she might want to)

After some sight-seeing, we went to Inception (10 year anniversary) at the Newport movie theater. 

After the movie we walked back to our hotel room and just chilled. 

I took a lot of pics out our windows because it was a great view and the sunset was amazing!

We then watched a Harry Potter movie marathon on TV while Merinda cuddled with Ellie,

and then fell asleep!

The next morning Merinda discovered that there was a First Watch (her fav restaurant) in downtown Cincinnati, so that's where we ate breakfast. 

Merinda ordered the avocado and egg & cheese sandwich with a side of grilled potatoes and I got the coconut chia pudding with berries and homemade granola and side of almond-buttered toast on homemade bread. It was sooooo good! I decided that it was also my new fav restaurant! After breakfast we drove home so that Merinda could go to work.

That only night she didn't have to work we celebrated her birthday with the family (Aubrey).

We made her a strawberry cake with fresh strawberries inside, and homemade cream cheese frosting (her favorite).

I even managed to find an actual #1 and #9. They weren't matching but still pretty remarkable for our standards. 

We also had Blue Bell ice cream to go with it which we thought would make up for the horrible singing and telling of her birth story,

but it didn't!

On Merinda's actual birthday, she found out that she got CFA Employee of the Month! 

But after dealing with a stomach and tossing her cookies all day (such a bummer on your birthday!)

she finally had enough pain meds and zofran on board to get ready for the day, and open gifts from her good friend's Jacob and Laura.

Laura wrapped every single gift (and there a lot), which took her until the wee hours of the morning.

They also made a creative way to open the gifts with matching stars that she would pull out of a jar.

Merinda loved all of the gifts!

And I loved the fact that Merinda has such nice friends!!

So much fun...for both the giver and the receiver!

After Laura & Jacob's gift extravaganza, both girls had to work the evening shift at CFA, where Merinda received her employee of the month certificate plus all kinds of free gifts and birthday wishes. Despite being sick, I think Merinda's 19th birthday turned out to be pretty darn good!