Favorite Birthday Trips

As I’m sure most of you know by now, we have a tradition of going on birthday trips as a family to celebrate instead of having big birthday parties every year. We’ve really enjoyed it and wanted to share some of our favorite trips with you.

Mark— I guess I am lucky, as my birthday usually always falls on our family vacation time, so there are many great stories to tell.  However, there would be a few that do stand out.  The year we took the kids to a log cabin for Bianca’s birthday and a family vacation (it was also the week after I had just returned from serving as a short term missionary in Honduras).  Another favorite was the twins trip to Niagara Falls.  We had an awesome room that overlooked the falls.

Betsy—Usually we only do birthday trips for the children, not the adults.:-) But this year, my family surprised me with a birthday trip to see some very dear friends in Midland. We spent the afternoon and evening with them, and it was a birthday I will never forget! And last year, I was able to share my birthday with a young friend and his family, also in Midland. We spent that day offering them love and support after their automobile accident, and being encouraged by them as well. So both of my birthday trips were made extra special by the company of dear friends!

Bianca—Oh, I have so many favorite birthday trips! I really enjoyed celebrating one of my birthdays in northern Michigan in a big log cabin on the lake where we were staying for the week. I also loved our trip to Niagara Falls! That was pretty special. But I think one of my favorite birthdays was one when we didn’t take a trip anywhere. We had missionary friends from Africa over for dinner and to spend the night. Their two boys and my siblings and I had an absolute blast exploring in the woods and playing capture the flag.

Ben—My favorite birthday trip was one involving three parts: part one was going to Walmart to buy a new bike, part two was going to a friend’s high school graduation party, and part three was going to the movie theatre to see “Night at the Museum 2.” Another one I really enjoyed was the Henry Ford Museum. There, I got to sit in the bus seat that Rosa Parks sat in! How cool is that! I also got to see about 7 vehicles used by presidents, including the famous Kennedy car. Other trips I've enjoyed were Niagara Falls and the Detroit Zoo.

Rubia—My first favorite is the trip we took to Niagara Falls. That was really cool! I also really enjoyed the one we took recently to the Detroit Zoo. I also really liked visiting the Saginaw Children’s Museum for one of Josiah’s birthday trips.

Roma—I enjoyed my birthday trip when we went to Canada to see Niagara Falls. I also enjoyed our most recent birthday trip to the Detroit Zoo.

Josiah—I really liked the Detroit Zoo and visiting the Children’s Museum. I also loved the trip to Niagara Falls. I also liked our trip to tour the one and only "Jiffy" factory. And our trip to the Castle Museum for my most recent birthday trip was awesome!