Ben's Birthday Trip

Earlier this month, we celebrated Ben’s birthday! In keeping with tradition, we went on a surprise birthday trip. In keeping with our newer tradition, we took it on a Saturday a few days before his birthday so that Daddy could be with us.

We found ourselves at the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza! This museum was created in the same building—on the same floor—where Lee Harvey Oswald shot at and assassinated President John F. Kennedy in 1963. Ben has always had a love for history, and went through a long phase where he was borderline obsessed with American Presidents. He was particularly interested in the Kennedy assassination after we saw the car he was riding in at the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan. Needless to say, this birthday trip was right up his alley! J

Photo Credit: Betsy.

Unfortunately no photos were allowed in the museum. But it actually helped me concentrate more on learning! They give you a small handheld audio device that basically gives you a tour through the museum. There are some signs, but the audio tells a lot more. It was the first time our family had done an audio tour, but we really enjoyed it!

The museum seemed small in size, but it actually took us a couple of solid hours to get all the way through it. We learned about every aspect of the Kennedy assassination, and also a lot about his presidency.

When we were through inside, we walked outside to the grassy knoll around the corner, which overlooked the route Kennedy was driving on at the time of his assassination.

The two spots where the shots hit are marked with an X. It was kind of strange being so close to such a significant piece of American history!

On the grassy knoll. Imagine how scary it would have been to have been standing here 50 years ago when the shots rang out, and the President of the United States of American slumped over in his vehicle.

Photo Credit: Betsy.

After that, we went out to dinner at Buca di Beppos! We came here for the first time to celebrate the twins birthday. It’s actually kind of funny that we ate here. The first time we came, Ben was very confused by the family-style meals and was rather frustrated. After all, when you’re a teenage boy, making sure you have enough food to eat is a big deal. J But once he figured it out, he *loved* it and had hardly stopped talking about it. He was quite excited to return!

What really surprised us was when Dad told the hostess that there would be 8 of us. It didn’t take Ben and me long to figure out who was coming. One of our best friends from Michigan is a pilot based out of Dallas. We’ve talked many times about getting together during one of his layovers, but nothing had worked out yet. This friend “just so happened” to call Dad earlier in the day, so we were rather suspicious. J Sure enough, he arrived to eat dinner with us! It was *so good* to see a face from Michigan (he’s the first one to come visit us so far!)

We had a delicious appetizer of fried cheese and salad. For our main entrée, we ate prosciutto stuffed chicken and penne pasta with sundried tomatoes, artichokes, peas, and white sauce. It was so delicious!

Dessert was crazy! This Italian crème cake is on a full size dinner plate! It’s a good thing we were sharing. J

The waiters and waitresses came out to sing the Birthday song to Ben. J

After dinner with Mr. M. It was so good to see him!

We made our way home after a long, but very fun-filled day. I’m so grateful for the many years we’ve been blessed by Ben, and the opportunity we had to celebrate this milestone with him!