Our Birthday Week

Well, it has been an eventful week around here! My in-laws came in on Thursday. We were so excited that they took time out of their very busy lives to come stay with us. We had a wonderful time visiting and playing with the kids. We took lots of pictures and video and I plan to document this special time in a scrapbook for them which I intend to give them at Christmas. It is a grand plan. Let's see if I can execute it.

The weekend was very full. We busied ourselves preparing for LG's first birthday party (to coincide with my own)on Friday by shopping at the mall where Grandma was extremely generous at Gymboree.


Saturday was a whirlwind of Farmer's market, cake decorating, present wrapping, last minute trips to the store and the noticeable absence of CJ while he shopped for my birthday gift. Nothing like waiting till the last minute, huh? It was so tiring that we all needed naps, but CJ and his dad were the only ones who were so lucky.

LG's party was a hit and although I set out to recreate the cake CJ had for his first birthday; lack of a good photo and sketchy memories made that impossible. I improvised and came up with what was a good likeness with my own twist. I was not completely happy with the cake, though.

I thought the locomotive was a bit too plain and would like to have added more candy embellishments, but didn't have the time or resources to do so. LG could have cared less! He was so NOT into the party scene! He liked the birthday singing, but had absolutely no use for the cake. He stuck his fingers in timidly and decided immediately that frosting all over his hands and face was something he wanted no part of. He played in it for a bit, but I think it was more out of a fascination with everyone staring and laughing at him than of the cake itself.

The rest of the party Saturday night was fun, although too much wine and birthday cake made for a long day Sunday as we tooled around the Montana countryside and made a visit to the State Fair. I was entirely too hung over to ride any of the rides with Lula, so Grandma gladly stepped in and saved my sorry behind. Monday came and the visit was over all together too quickly, as most highly anticipated visits are, and they flew off to Oklahoma. We were sad to see them go and the tears were difficult to stifle.

Tuesday was a bust as CJ stayed home with a stomach bug and today I have been trying to decide (tearfully, at times) what things I will try to squeeze into my minivan for the return trip to Oklahoma next weekend. I will not be making that journey in the car, though. CJ will be driving the van and I will be flying with the kids. The thought of 27 hours in a van with two children was more than he could bear and he happily coughed up the money for three one way tickets to avoid it. Who am I to argue?

All in all, it has been an exciting and fun-filled week that has both exhilarated and exhausted me at the same time. But those are life's greatest weeks, don't you think?