Celebrations

My parents just celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary!  In lieu of a big party, my brother's family, my family & my parents have a vacation planned together this summer.  Fun!! 

Mom & Dad's wedding day!

On their 5th anniversary, Mom went into labor with me.  I was born the NEXT day.  I'm told it was a rather lengthy labor & pain relief wasn't what it is today.  Mom chooses not to share much else about those couple of days.  The only thing she'll say is, "You were very cute."  I can sympathize, because I went to be induced with L on a Wednesday evening.  He arrived that Friday evening.  F-R-I-D-A-Y, but he was adorable.  :) 

Anyway...apparently several girls were born around the same time, in that small town hospital.  That explains why they ran out of pink blankets.  Consequently, I was swaddled in a blue one.  At first glance of the blanket, my dad thought he'd just had a son.  (Those were the days that dads paced in the waiting room with everyone else.)  It's all good, though.  It had taken forever for me to arrive, so he was just happy to see a baby.  He was cool with having a daughter.  :)  What an eventful couple of days that must have been for them.  At least I had the cute thing going for me.  :)

Time sure flies when you're havin' fun, because I just celebrated my 35th birthday.  With the boys living it up in Grandparent Land, Chad and I were able to have a mini stay-cation.  We went hiking in the Flint Hills...Beautiful!  I'd been anxious to return there, since that women's retreat in April.  One of the park rangers had said that the end of May was his favorite time of year...lots of wildflowers.  Well, I just had to see that!  Chad was very patient with me, as I stopped to photograph each new wildflower that I spotted.  For not being such an outdoorsy gal, that prairie preserve is quickly becoming one of my favorite places to visit.    

Along one trail, you can stop by a one room schoolhouse.  Among items posted, they had what the rules were for teachers back then.  If those rules applied to now, I'd be considered practically scandelous.  I'm married, I dye my hair, I wear mascara, I regularly attend Z*mba classes... 

After freshening up from the hike, we enjoyed a fantastic dinner at Sabor (yummy Latin food) & we stayed at lovely, downtown hotel.  The whole day was a treat!

The day of my actual birthday, Chad made his famous, homemade ice cream & we shared it with friends.  It was so relaxing to sit in lawn chairs and chat with the adults, while the kids played outside all evening.  Earlier, Chad & the boys gave me my gift:  an awesome, little point-and-shoot camera.  I love my big camera, but there are some occasions when a tiny camera is sufficient.

My happy birth-week continued the following day, when I joined a few girlfriends for dinner.  Yay!  We laughed & laughed...and I didn't have to cook!

Here's a quick slideshow of the first two celebrations.  I'm one blessed birthday girl!

          


song:  "Carol Ann" from Michael W. Smith instrumental piano album (Freedom)