Maggie's Birthday Extraveganza, Some Wiistruction, a Special Guest and a Visit With Santa

Maggie's ninth birthday was December sixth. Tomorrow is Harry's seventh birthday. And Christmas is in ten days. So, if I don't want to spend an eternity updating my blog, I'd better get started. So let the good times roll.

We started the birthday weekend on Friday after school with a trip to CPK with three friends. It was very important that they be allowed to sit at the bar together for this dinner. I don't think they realized until too late that this dining configuration didn't allow for the best conversation flow. I was sitting in a booth nearby with a couple of the boys who were allowed to attend, and I heard a lot of "what did you say's?", and "what are you talking about's?" coming from the pack of girls. I was reminded of a particular Seinfeld episode and had to smile at them as they struggled to maintain a conversation. Nonetheless, they had a great time and were ready for the next event.



Which was...
Yogurt Creations
I know, ridiculous that my children love this so much considering how their parents pay the bills. But, on a birthday, sometimes even loyalty has to step aside for proper celebration. There's just something for kids about being able to pull the lever and release your own frozen treat...and then top it with whichever candy or fruit delight you choose. And then, you get to weigh it to see how much it costs...so thrilling when you're nine.



We took a break on a bench to take a quick picture, and then made our way to the patio of Cold Stone (with Yogurt Creation cups in hand) to take our specially reserved seats and watch the annual Downtown Christmas parade.



After the parade (and an exciting wait for the tow truck to fix the flat tire on my Suburban), we made our way home for Maggie's first sleepover party. We stayed upstairs, the girls ruled the downstairs. Everyone was happy...Ambien was involved (for the parents that is). In the morning, we had the traditional birthday breakfast of "amazing balls of goodness", bacon and chocolate milk. We toasted the beginning of Maggie's tenth year of life.


Finally, before the rain set in, we headed to Cal Poly for some Satsuma Tangerine picking. I know, can you possibly think of a more exciting birthday activity? I couldn't either...that's why we did it. But the girls had fun, and I learned that 22.5 hours is the maximum time four girls can be together without falling apart. We took the girls home and ended the party on a happy note. I was proud of Maggie. We talked about not having presents this year and she was happy to forgo presents and just have fun with her friends. We did have everyone bring a book and had an exchange where everyone got to take home a new book.


Sunday morning was Maggie's actually birthday, and she learned that good things do indeed come in small packages. And John proved that he really is named after Grandpa Steve as he hurriedly cleaned up the wrapping trash as soon as it was opened.

After church we had a birthday dinner and celebration birthday Trifle. We're so glad we live in California when our two December birthday kids almost always request Strawberries on their birthday!


Later in the evening when the dishes were washing and everyone was relaxing, I noticed a certain smell in the air. It smelled like something was burning, so I jumped up to find the problem. I couldn't figure it out...the candles were out, the oven was off, no ironing was being done...I started to become concerned. Finally, I thought, "Oh, maybe I accidentally put something in the dishwasher that wasn't dish-washer safe." I opened it up mid-cycle to check, but couldn't find anything. But then Joe took a look and saw what I didn't:


I guess we can all guess what Jack is going to be opening up on Christmas morning!

Next, we had a special visit from Aunt Chelsea. I had asked Harry last week what he wanted for his birthday. His reply was that he would really like Aunt Chelsea to come for a visit like she did last year. Since this is something I always enjoy as well, I got online that evening and booked Chelsea a ticket with my airline miles. When I told Harry in the morning, he was so excited. I joked with him that now he didn't get any presents because we had bought the airplane ticket. When Chelsea arrived a few days later, he confided in her that he wouldn't be getting any presents, but that it was okay because she was here for a visit. When I realized that he didn't understand that I was joking about that a few days ago, I was so sad! And so happy, that he really was willing to give up presents for a birthday visit from his Aunt. He was really relieved, however, when I told him he would still be getting presents!



Things are always just a little bit more fun when Aunt Chelsea is around!

Finally, some pictures of the kids enjoying/talking to Santa.











Well, on to the next birthday! I'm sure it will be just as fun-filled as the last!