Roseau Times-Region - Serving Roseau County for over 100 Years - The Official Roseau County Newspaper

Sarah, Brian and I had quite the shenanigans going for the big 4-0 birthday celebration. I think we almost gave Kyle a heart attack with his birthday surprise!

We had come up with the plan we were going out to eat in Grand Forks at the Mexican restaurant and then go spend one night at the Devils Lake casino and one night at the Cass Lake casino.

We did go out to eat at Charras in Grand Forks but then I gave him his birthday present which was an old man bucket hat and a 40th birthday chain. Also in the bag were some 40th t-shirts The last t-shirt was a Las Vegas 40th t-shirt. He looked at it and had a look of nice t-shirt. So then we flashed him our Vegas t-shirts we were wearing under our sweatshirts and he still didn't get it.

I had to tell him we were flying to Vegas for the weekend. He didn't have words but once it sunk in we were flying to Vegas in a couple hours he about had heart failure as you can see from the photo.

He talked non-stop from that moment on. We had the hardest time keeping it a secret. Whenever the four of us go on our adventures we send each other TikToks of fun things to do and see, Well we couldn't this time and it was HARD!

Also, I tell Kyle everything so to keep Vegas out of my mouth to him was extremely difficult. In the end to see his shocked face it was well worth it!

His other big surprise was going to the Ghost Hunters museum. He is obsessed with the show so I knew that was one must on our adventure. He was quite ecstatic that he was actually going to Vegas and the museum. He had never been to Vegas but the rest of us have been there. I think I win awards for best 40th birthday ever!

Next week I will share some of our Vegas adventures.

Italian Pasta Bake

2 pounds ground beef

1 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 jar (24 ounces) spaghetti sauce

1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 can (4 ounces) mushroom stems and pieces, drained

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

3 cups uncooked medium pasta shells

3 plum tomatoes, sliced

3/4 cup shredded provolone cheese

3/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions

In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until no longer pink. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce, diced tomatoes, mushrooms and Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Add to beef mixture and gently stir in sliced plum tomatoes.

Transfer to an ungreased 13x9-in. baking dish. Sprinkle with cheeses. Bake 25-30 minutes or until bubbly and heated through.

Joke of the Week

This woman goes into a funeral home to make arrangements for her husband's funeral. She tells the director that she wants her husband to be buried in a dark blue suit.

He asks, "Wouldn't it just be easier to bury him in the black suit that he's wearing?"

But she insists that it must be a blue suit and gives him a blank check to buy one.

When she comes back for the funeral, she sees her husband in the coffin and he is wearing a beautiful blue suit. She tells the funeral director how much she loves the suit and asks how much it cost.

He says, "Actually, it didn't cost anything. The funniest thing happened. As soon as you left, another corpse was brought in, this one wearing a blue suit. I noticed that they were about the same size, and asked the other widow if she would mind if her husband were buried in a black suit. She said that was fine with her. So... I switched the heads"