On February 5th, Michael turned 40! [So did Whitney Houston's ex-husband, crazy man Bobby Brown, but he's got nothing to do with this blog.] The day was spent in a very mellow, but fun fashion. Lori made blueberry pancakes for her Bridenstine boys, and then we all headed off to meet friend Claire and her son Nicolas at the playroom at St. John the Divine. $6 gets you tons of fun for the kids and that's exactly what we did; tumbling around with NJ, riding a bike, getting into all kinds of mischief. Then it was off to Dive Bar where you can get one free chicken wing for every year you're on the planet. [Seems like a fair trade to me...] Michael only got about 20 wings in his system, but fun and many calories were had by all. Then it was back home for some homemade cake - almond cake with green tea frosting - that crumbled right before our eyes. It didn't look like much, but it tasted yummy. Then a gift or two, some more hugs and playing around, and finally the day ended. Family and fun - what more can an old man ask for! See the pics below.

Labels: birthday, fun, lori, michael, Nicholas, NJ, playground

A Birthday flower for the lovely Lori -- from your Blog Administrator aka Vanessa :)




By the way, you and Michael both should be able to publish to your blog again...Problem is fixed! :)

Labels: birthday, blogging, friends, lori, updates, Vanessa

1 - Nicholas Eugene Collura, who turned one, and had a great party on Long Island. Pablo from "The Backyardigans" showed up and we had lots of fun with other kids. Particularly cute was Aidan, who as you can see as he holds his balloons, doesn't come to the smiles easily.

2 - Jen Bencivenga, who turned the big 5=0, and our friend Mike had a big party that was a cowboy party, with hats, bandanas and fun line dancing. We saw old friend we hadn't seen in a long time, but unfortunately, had to leave before we could get any cake.

3 - Nicholas Langella, who turned one, and had an intimate gathering up in Washington Heights. Lots of French was spoken, but the two Nicholas' just spoke the language of fun.

4 - Lori Lynn Bridenstine [aka Mom]. who turned 38, and we just had friends Amy and Dave over for some cake. Dad made a large Geman Chocolate cake, which despite following the directions, was a tad dry. Damn! Oh well, Mom seemed to like her silly gifts from Dad, NJ and the cats. Favorite gift - shoes from Amy and Dave. You can't win them all...

Labels: Bencivenga, birthday, collura, lori, Nicholas, Nicholas Langella, parties

December 14th 2008 is Nicholas' first birthday, and we had the party to end all parties. [Well, that's not true. Just a few good friends and some fun times.] In attendance were two other Nicholas' - Nicholas Collura and Nicholas Paul. Their parents came as well, of course, and Uncle Dave and Aunt Amy from next door joined us as well. So we had three Nicks! [Unfortunately, the fourth Nicholas, Nicolas Langella, no "h", was not feeling well so we were short one for a Nicholas round of doubles in tennis.] Daddy made yummy homemade banana birthday cake and mommy personalized it. We hung up some banners and had an Elmo/Sesame Street theme going. Pretty low-key, which was the recommended path by our accountant. The 3 Nicks played together and NJ got lots of nice gifts, from Grandparents and friends and many others. I'd say he's truly a spoiled little monkey. And although NP eventually fell asleep, and NC took a major face plant on the floor after popping a balloon with one of his two teeth, and NJ got super cranky, a fun time was had by all. The good news is that Nicholas tells us that this birthday thing happens every year, so we're gonna have to do it again eventually. Ugh... Check out the video of "Happy Birthday" being sung by non-professionals, and some fun pics below that.

Labels: birthday, fun times, Nicholas, NJ, presents