Anyway, he ended up on an Extra 300, one of the most maneuverable civilian aircraft in the world.

He was geeked, obviously. He had to gear up and wear a flight suit!

His co-pilot took him out onto the tarmac to greet the Extra 300. Dale’s carrying a parachute on his back.

There she is! In all her terrifying glory. I was pretty much crapping myself and secretly glad that the flight and tricks would be too far away for me to see it happening.

Dale, cinching his bits in place. He had to be strapped into the cockpit.

Who is that? Why it’s the World War II flying ace The Red Baron!
Dale gets a final debriefing before the flight…

Anybody else singing “Highway to the Danger Zone” yet? Because I totally am.

Here’s a quick video I took of Dale’s flight taking off–with some smudge of something on my lens. Oops. I was pretty much crapping myself at this point. Then I went to Starbucks and Dale did this…

This is a 14-minute version of Dale’s flight. I know that’s long but it’s my first attempt at editing a video–and it was really flippin’ hard because I don’t have a Mac, ok?

It was a 30-minute flight. This is the take-off and the bulk of the tricks. I put little title cards in to let you know what’s going on (it’s like a silent movie). If you want to skip right to the tricks go in about 3 minutes!

To give you an idea how insane this whole thing is: at 1:30 in the video the pilot asks Dale if he’d like to take the controls–they let you drive the plane with no lessons! How insane is that? And Dale took the controls and did a roll! Craziness. There are a few tricks after that point that pretty much make me want to toss my cookies. But as we learned in the video I posted from Yellowstone? I pretty much always want to toss my cookies when it motion.

Dale says that he had a lot of fun on the flight and he would love to go on another one–and if anybody out there is looking to buy Dale the perfect Christmas present he says he’d happily accept the responsibility of an Extra 300 of his own.

Lara and Tony were there! Lara’s looking hot, isn’t she?

Dale managed to drink A LOT of margaritas, starting with this giant 40 ounce goblet right there.

Rebecca & Pat were there, too! Loved the flower in Rebecca’s hair. Adorable.

We also invited Lara’s parents–Trish and Rudy! Lara and Trish brought plastic silverware and napkins–I love them for that! You see, you eat with your hands at Medieval Times!

In addition to a tasty bunch of hand-eaten foods? You get a spectacular show!

It’s filled with romance, horses and feats of daring! And you get to cheer on the Knight that your section of the theater.

We got lucky! We cheered on the Green Knight–he’s the villain and gets lots of time in the stadium. And he was cute, too. I cheered him like it was my job (and it was).

A picture of all the fellas! It was a pretty fun time. I think a few doubting Thomases in the crowd didn’t think it would be as awesome as it was (but I secretly knew it would be all along).

Any ideas for next year?

That’s right. I’m now 37. I treated myself to an expensive haircut with highlights and Dale got me the adorable necklace I’m wearing in this picture–sadly you can barely see it. Trust me–it’s ADORABLE.
This is a picture I took of Dale, wherein I was trying to replicate my Signature(TM) Pose! It pretty much worked.

We had some cocktails–Dale’s glass had tiny naked girls on it!–and we enjoyed some Taro Chips–don’t know what they are but they were tasty!

Our friends Lara and Tony were kind enough to come out and celebrate my birthday with us! Rebecca and Pat would have come had they not had a family thing on the same night.

Just as we wrapped up our entrees, the floor show started! It last for about an hour and involved lots of dancing, some jokes and general shenanigans.

During the show I was totally hijacked into getting on stage. They suddenly announced: Will tonight’s birthday people get on stage? REBECCA! Where is Rebecca!” So I went up to hula and then–then–they announced that you didn’t have to come on stage. Grr.

Anyway, it was a hoot. I hula’d with my co-birthdayers. Dale took a little video and this pic sums it up: I spent the entire dance biting my lip in concentration and completely missing every move I was supposed to make and ended up just looking confused and swaying my hands back and forth! Hee! It was a fun time!

We stayed with Doug…

and the boys (Oliver and Cole, pictured above).

Dale did everything he could to make it a nice birthday for me. It was great, actually, though this year is filled with painful “firsts” without my mom Dale made it really special and fun. Anyway, Dale had a bunch of people call me (he’s sneaky) and got me a new iPod. Sweet! And my friend Rebecca made me cupcakes for the road trip–she’s a sweetie!

While Dale was working, Doug & I drove to Charlevoix on Saturday to meet our friend Heather and her little girl Maggie for lunch. We also wandered about Charlevoix for a spell and got ice cream.

Heather is pregnant with baby #2 and is due in a couple of weeks! This is us in Charlevoix. Oh, and I’m wearing my new glasses! As one of the bosses at work told me, “very fashion-forward!” But I think that might have been an insult. Hee!

Maggie is a cutie! And she loves her glass, too, obviously! She lit up like the fourth of July when Heather gave her the sunglasses! Ha!

Then it was back to Petoskey. During the weekend we went to a few of our favorite spots including Roast & Toast (an adorable indie coffee shop/deli) that is situated right next to one of my favorite bookstores in the world: McLean & Eakin (I could live there). Also, we went to the greatest kitchen gadget store in Michigan: Cutler’s. It was a very happy trip!

We drove to Harbor Springs on Sunday and had breakfast at Mary Ellen’s Diner–an old-fashioned counter grill and ice cream spot.

Doug & I soaking up the atmosphere! We also saw Iron Man. Good times.

Dale and I took the long way home–we drove along Lake Michigan as much as we could and stopped for dinner in St. Joseph to eat on a restaurant patio and watch the sunset. Lovely weekend! It was great to see Heather & Doug! I wish we all lived closer.

Pat’s a great guy–just look at him!–and we were happy to spend the evening celebrating in his honor!

Dale took some photos, of course, and you can check out the gallery for Pat’s party by clicking here. But I took this photo of Dale–and since he’s both camera shy and reluctant to smile I think this one is extra special! He’s smiling and at the camera!

We went to Buzz Cafe a couple of weeks back, before Dale’s birthday on the 16th. He loved their coffee so he picked up a pound of coffee. So then he needed a coffee grinder. We picked one up for his birthday. We also enjoyed a visit to Robinson’s #1 Ribs, a famous chicago rib joint.

The ribs were hearty, sticky, and tasty! They go generous with the bbq sauce. Good call, Dale! Later that evening, we headed to a party at our friend Anne’s house. She made homemade apple pie and tart adult beverages called Sidecars. Thanks for the fun evening Anne!