Ethan's 11th Birthday Celebration

To celebrate Ethan's birthday, he had a Geocaching party.  According to geocaching.com, "Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices.  The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online."  A treasure hunt was perfect for a group of 9-11 year old boys.  They had so much fun traipsing around Lincoln, they forgot to pull out the camera.  After all that work, they came back to our house for pizza and ice cream cake.  One of the boys gave Ethan a nerf gun, which in our house ALWAYS leads to a full on nerf war.  I am still picking up the bullets. 

The Geocachers

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday, Dear Ethan...

I wish I had video of the burping contest going on at this table :)

After the friends left, I took a nap along with the two littles.  Ethan's birthday money was burning a hole in his pocket so we headed to the mall for a couple of hours.  We ended up back home for dinner where we enjoyed the Deluxe Cheeseburger Salad Ethan had requested.  Yes, a SALAD!  This dish has been requested by both my big boys for birthday dinners!  Here's the recipe:

Deluxe Cheeseburger Salad (from Pampered Chef):
croutons                                 2 roma tomatoes cut into wedges  
3/4 cup ketchup                      1 cup (4 oz.) cheddar cheese   
3/4 lb. ground beef                  1 small red onion, divided
1 TBSP yellow mustard           8 cups thinly sliced romaine lettuce
1/2 cup finely diced pickles or pickle relish


Cut onion in half.  Slice one half into thin rings and set aside.  Chop remaining onions and cook with ground beef over med.-high heat 5-7 min.  Finely dice pickles or strain relish until you have 1/2 cup.  In a bowl, combine pickles, ketchup, mustard and cooked beef.  To serve, arrange lettuce on serving platter.  Spoon beef mixture over lettuce.  Top with cheese, tomatoes, sliced onion, and croutons.  Serve immediately.