McCartney turns 11!

We planned our February Parenting Time to coincide with McCartney’s 11th birthday this year. It also ended up coinciding with a pretty epic snowstorm! Thankfully, we had already planned on flying the night before the storm hit, so we had time to get settled before 18 inches of snow fell. Have I mentioned that I dislike winter??

Snowy weather aside, we had big plans for Mackie’s birthday. We are choosing to gift experiences this year, rather than stuff. Mackie chose an Escape Room for her experience. Dan found a Sherlock Holmes themed escape room in Grand Rapids, so we headed up the day before Mackie’s actual birthday.

Our first stop in Grand Rapids is always Rise Authentic Baking Co. They’re gluten-free, and have the BEST treats and lattes. We also loved that they have heated greenhouses for outdoor seating! The greenhouses seat 2, and Mackie declared that one would be “girls only.”

Wilder was quite suspicious of what we might be planning…

Our next stop was the Escape Room. It was so much fun! This was our first escape room experience, so we didn’t really know what to expect. We were “locked” in a room, and had to solve 4 puzzles to unlock the final puzzle, which would unlock the room. The kids did SUCH a good job finding clues!! This was a family-friendly escape room, but that definitely did NOT equal “easy.” We escaped with only 11 seconds to spare!! How perfect is that for Mackie’s 11th birthday??

After the Escape Room, we split up for some retail fun. Dan took the kids to a Dungeon’s & Dragons gaming store after dropping me off at Madewell to try on all.the.jeans. Dan treated the kids to a few game items, and I treated myself to two pair of jeans…seems fair, right?

After shopping, we headed to dinner. Mackie is all about burgers, so she chose Stella’s Lounge, based on their claim of “award winning stuffed burgers.” The restaurant also features old school video games, so we tackled Ms Pacman, Donkey Kong, pinball, and others while we waited for our table. Turns out, Mackie is GREAT at Ms Pacman!

Funny coincidence – our waiter has the same birthday as Mack, so he treated her to an ice cream sandwich after her burger. The pictures that I have are blurry, but trust me when I tell you that she thoroughly enjoyed it! After dinner, we headed back to our SB house…

We decorated the house with streamers & balloons after the kids went to bed so that Mackie could wake up to a celebration. We celebrated her actual birthday with brunch at Early Bird Eatery, where our usual waitress made sure that Mackie’s hot chocolate was extra special. After a full day of playing, talking to grandparents, and embracing 11, we closed out the day with Indian food (Mack’s request), and double chocolate cake (also by request). Happy Birthday McCartney!!