and the birthday celebrations continue...

Yesterday was N and J's birthdays. Cake is the official food of the month. Lucky for us, everyone has different faves, so at least there is some variety. ;)

Yesterday was also the day that my present to myself arrived: my geomate. Well, it's actually a present for E too. And my sister. It seems everyone is pretty excited about this new toy. It is pretty neat and comes preloaded with a bunch of cache sites so we were able to find one immediatly after we picked it up. Today, I downloaded the newest map and changed the unit of measurement from imperial to metric. Awesome!

On the way back from picking up this new gadget, I was well prepared to pay the taxes on it and had all my paperwork ready to show that it was made in the USA (no duty), what I paid for it and the item itself on the side of my car door to proudly show it off when asked. Well, what happened next was a lesson for me in expecting the unexpected. E has been such an integrated member of our family for over 3 years now, I have become complacent about documentation.

After looking at our passports, the customs agent asked me about E's dad. This is something that E and I discuss with some frequency. She knows that she has 2 moms and a dad. Her birthmom and birthdad and me, her forever mom. The customs clerk wasn't altogether as satisfied with that answer as E. And wouldn't you know it, the one time I don't have her adoption order to show that I adopted her as a single parent. Yikes, there were a nervous few moments there. Finally, the customs agent asked E a series of short questions about who I am, who she lives with and who else lives with us. Thankfully, that was enough. But for the future, I am carrying a copy of E's adoption order at all times!

It's really kind of funny, because I used to do that and I was never asked...ah well, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I won't get caught without again.