12 Things We Did for Our Daughter's Birthday

From the previous years, we always go on a vacation on our daughter's birthday.  We always timed our trip on the week when she celebrates her birthday but this year, we  kind of slacked on planning it and decided that we should just  do  small  road trips  here and there and save  the money for next year's  vacation.  We want to visit my family in the Philippines and we also  wish and dream of visiting New Zealand.  Anyway, here are 12 things that did during our daughter's birthday month.

1.  Watched a 4th of July Parade
The 4th of July parade is always done ahead at our city especially if the 4th falls on a weekday  and this year is no different.  Seeing   their friends be part of the  pro-life float encouraged my kids to be part of it too next year.  We will see how to join but it's definitely something they wants to do.

#july4thCelebration🇺🇸 #parade

A post shared by Chubskulit Rose (@chubskulitrose) on Jul 1, 2017 at 7:22am PDT

2.  Watched the Firework With Family Friends
We always watch the fireworks with  the Howells but this year  they went for a vacation so we joined two families from our church and school to watch it with us.  The kids had an absolute blast to be able to watch  it with their friends.

3.  Planted a Magnolia Tree

To make her 12th  birthday as memorable as possible, we planted a magnolia tree  at our  yard.  I know that it is not something you expect to  do on  birthdays but I thought  she will always remember this tree as long as we live here.  

4.  Water Balloon Fight and Played in the Rain
Thanks to my son for thinking about this activity.  He did all the preparation for this activity and it turned out to be a great time for both of them.  They even played in the rain as it came down towards the end of their play so it was a big plus.

5.  Volunteered at School

Even though it was her birthday, I felt beaming with  pride  as she decided to go to school and volunteered in preparation to the upcoming Vacation Bible School.  From the previous years, it's either she is attending the  VBS or we were somewhere vacationing so she never experienced doing this type of outreach program.  I am  so happy to see her step up  her game.  She  was also happy that she did it because she get to be with some of her friends while doing it so it was memorable for her birthday.

6.  Visited Columbiana Ohio

OUr little  trip to Columbiana, Ohio was random and unplanned.  MY husband wanted to look at Saturn Sky and we went for a ride with him.  Although he did not get the car as it was sold 10 minutes before we could get there, we still had a great time looking around in that quaint little town.  

Columbiana is such a pretty neat little town. #roadtrippin #unplannedTrip #sightSeeing #Ohio #familyTravel #unplannedTrip #roadtrips #summerFun

A post shared by Chubskulit Rose (@chubskulitrose) on Jul 6, 2017 at 1:58pm PDT

7.  Visited Indiana, PA

Ordinary trips can be extra ordinary if you do it with loved ones right?  This road trip was planned but not for the reason of sigh seeing, we went there because my husband  wanted to look at another Saturn Sky after a disappointing result of his quest down in Ohio.  We are always game when it comes to  taking trips because  we get to see places we have  never been to before so it is exciting to see something new every time.  I should have not agreed to purchase  it that way we could have taken more road trips but I wanted my husband to have his dream car.  After all, he deserved it.  Daughter and I had a great time looking around  while the boys were enjoying  looking at cars.

8.  Went  to See the New  River Gorge Bridge

We live in West Virginia but we have never seen the  New River Gorge bridge.  Even my husband hasn't seen it and he   grew up here. It takes 4 hours to drive downstate  that's why we have never been there.   Anyway, we finally went and see it and glad that we did, it was gorgeous out there.

9.  Camped in the Backyard
Why go to a camp ground if you can do it in your won backyard?  I know that's not a real thing , yo]u would say, and it doesn't really  give you that real camping feeling but it's good enough for us.  It was special because  we did for  our daughter's  birthday and she loved it!

10.  Played Tennis
We play tennis regularly but to do it on her birthday is  special  as well.  We were always somewhere vacationing on her previous birthday but this year, we were home so went to play tennis  after  doing  little special things for her.  Tennis is something we all enjoyed playing.

11.  Shopping Trip At Macy's and TJMaxx

I realized that my little girl is no longer a baby and she is turning into a little lady so her likes are changing  each time.  She told us that she just want some new outfits for her birthday so we  took her  shopping at Macy's in Robinson since our Macy's here in the area  have closed already.  She also love shopping at TJMaxx so we took her there too.  I love shopping with my daughter because he is a smart shopper.  She not only  look at the clothing but the price  that comes with it.  We are not rich so when we shop, we always  remember how much the things cost and she is very good at that.  

12.  Devoured Some Sushi

Eating sushi is  quite  an ordinary thing for these two but we went out and eat at our favorite Sushi  restaurant in the area  because that was what she was craving for  on her special day.  I was going to cook at home but I did not object  because  that gave me  a break from cooking as well.  What made this a different from our previous visits was that, they tried the  Love Boat Sushi, it was a  combination of different sushi.  My husband said that since it was her birthday that they should  try  this one.  

We also gave her some  random but  kind of unique things like the 12 wooden roses.   Instead  of fresh roses, I thought this would   stay longer and she could keep it as a souvenir/ remembrance when  she turned  12.  

12 wooden roses that I gave my daughter on her 12th birthday. I chose the wooden instead of fresh ones because we can keep it for a long time. #woodenRoses #12thBirthday #rose #dozenOfRoseForA12yearOld

A post shared by Chubskulit Rose (@chubskulitrose) on Jul 9, 2017 at 10:59am PDT