So it looks like I survived my first 50 years! Now only 50 years to go! I got off to a good start when Tom and Scott took me out to dinner for my 51st Birthday last week and showered me with gifts. Some of my favorite things-flowers, a Walking Dead tshirt and Mug, gold earrings and my 2015 Mary Engelbreit calendar(have to keep track of all our activities), plus my favorite-a Santa toilet seat cover.

Bday present

 Spartan Spirit

 Go Sparty!

 Uof Maryland Stadium

 Pre game warm up

 Scoreboard Baby!

. And of course chocolate cake to top off the evening. Plus I talked Tom into taking me to an MSU vs Uof Maryland football game on Saturday night.

Since Uof Maryland has joined the Top 10, we now get to host MSU and UofM sporting events here in Maryland. Naturally we sat in the Visitors section at the Uof Maryland stadium to watch the game. I was surprised how small the Uof Maryland stadium is-that may change. Unfortunately,  the college games have been pushed to night time for better tv ratings. Not my favorite. I would prefer the afternoon, sitting in the sunshine football game. But that was not to be. And naturally it was one of the coldest nights we have had all year here in Maryland. But what fun sitting among so many MSU fans like us yelling "Go Green/Go White". Although the Uof Maryland fans thought we were simple minded. We may have been simple, but MSU did win the game. The MSU football team did not play their best-our quarterback got lots of sacks and threw horrible passes. But they still managed to win. After 4 hrs. The game ended at midnight. Lots of flags thrown on the plays which dragged it out with time for review. Tom and I drank lots of hot cocoa to stay warm. It was also fun visiting campus. I wish we could have tailgated, but the MSU fan club was charging too much for their entry fee. I think I enjoyed our bus trip back and forth from the parking garage as well. It was full of mostly MSU fans and I loved listening to all the conversations about Michigan. I especially enjoyed the few Uof Maryland fans scattered amongst our group telling us to all go home. I don't think they realized that most of us were home in Maryland. We did get one compliment. The Uof Marylanders thought we MSU fans were so much nicer than the Ohio State fans. We naturally wished them Good Luck in their upcoming game against Uof Michigan next weekend in Ann Arbor!

So we definitely slept in on Sunday.  I had a very long Birthday weekend celebration. On Friday night my parents joined us for dinner at a Japanese Steak House where they cook your meal at your table. It is basically dinner and a show-the chefs enjoy lots of knife tossing and flame throwing while cooking the meat and veggies. My Dad thought it was one of the best meals he'd had in a long time. Afterwards, my parents joined me to watch the Mt Hebron High School musical "The King and I". I discovered my parents get Sr passes for discounts on local High School performances. The show was very good(for a high school musical) and we certainly got our money's worth for a 2.5hr performance. Mom and Dad enjoyed listening to favorite old songs. I think my parents appreciated sleeping in on Sunday morning too.

They had a busy week as well as they enjoyed a Thanksgiving Luncheon and entertainment with their group from the Senior Center at a local Ballroom.

I was busy at Scott's school as well with an Open House for Freshman parents(just a little late). And sign up for Winter Sports. On Saturday morning Scott tried out for the Indoor Track Team at school. It is a misnomer as they practice outside(in the cold and snow and rain and wind). Just the events are held inside usually on the weekends. It is a whole new experience for Scott. We'll see if he makes it (or likes it). At least we know the coach-Allison's previous teacher for the Teaching program. Maybe he has an "in". We'll keep our fingers crossed.

Scott was also busy this weekend completing volunteer work with his Boy Scout Troop. ON Sunday afternoon, he went with Tom to the Robotics lab in downtown Baltimore. The boys joined with a large group of scouts to produce prosthetic hands on 3D printers to be sent to children with amputation injuries in Somalia from bombings. Tom thought the group could have done a more efficient job of producing the prostheses, but overall he was glad Scott had the chance to participate in an activity that affected so many people so far away. And that made such a huge difference.

Tom was also busy volunteering with the Boy Scout troop on Saturday morning helping to rebuild the Troops storage shed. Again, a project Tom would have preferred to do by himself(and with better wood). But they did get the project finished over the weekend. And Tom only lost one drill bit to damage!

While the boys were busy volunteering their time, I was busy trying to get some yard work done. I had to quit when it started sleeting on Sunday afternoon. Maybe the strong winds will just blow all our leaves away! (But it also seems to blow a new batch onto our yard from the neighbor's trees).

Allison was also in our neck of the woods this weekend as she joined her Ultimate Frisbee Team on a road trip to George Mason University for a tournament. Unfortunately she injured her ankle during practice last week, so she really did not get to play very much. She had volunteered to drive however, so she really needed to attend. She had a long drive on Friday night as George Mason U is on the other side of DC from Salisbury near Fairfax. They stay overnight at one of the team member's houses-Friday to Sunday. Sounds like Allison had a great time even though her play time was limited. And their team is made up of mostly inexperienced freshman, so the team has some growing to do in skill level. But still fun per Allison.