Turning that frown upside down

A few weeks ago I turned 40.  Did anyone else feel a THUD as I typed those words?  I TURNED 40.  Really?  It didn't seem possible but as my birthday loomed in the future like a black cloud I wanted to cry my eyes out.  Seriously, I remember when my parents turned 40 and back then I thought they were OLD!  Now I'm the one who's 40 and my daughter thinks that of me.  Hmpf!

Anyway, the closer my BIG day came the more determined I was not to resent it.  I wanted to be proud of being 40.  I wanted to OWN 40 without feeling 40.  Believe it or not, I did a pretty good job.  By the time my birthday rolled around I had turned my pending pity party completely around.  Well, almost completely ...  That morning the pity party tried rearing it's ugly head.  That was until my sweet girls sang Happy Birthday to me.  Then I cried for an entirely different reason all together.  I cried because I realized all the wishes I've been making since I was a little girl had finally come true. All three of them were sitting in front of me.  My husband and my two girls.  Honestly, I can't recall wanting or dreaming of being anything else in my life but a wife and a mom.  I also can't think of anything I've worked or prayed more for.  The people sitting in front of me made every one of those 39 now 40 years worth living and being proud of. 

After I pulled myself together from the waterfall of sappy happy tears, I began thinking of all the other wonderful blessings I've experienced during my 40 years of life.  I've lived more places than I can remember and as a result I've made wonderful friends.  I graduated from High School.  I graduated from college.  I began my master's degree. I've been in love more times than I'd like to admit.  I met and married the man of my dreams.  I've been recognized by every employer I've ever worked for my strong work ethic.  I've even been recognized by the Pentagon for my hard work.  I've visited 20 different countries and lived in 2 maybe 3 of them.  I've visited 32 states. I've lived in 8 of them. I've felt the lowest of lows and the highest of highs.  (Legal ones that is.)  I've given and received forgiveness. I found my faith in God and I've clung to him in some very dark times.  I've witnessed miracles more times than I can count. I even get to hug and kiss two of them every day.

Gosh darn it!  I'm proud of my 40 years!  I wouldn't change a single one of them or trade being 40 for any other younger age.  Notice, I'm sticking with age here not body. Anyway, for those of you with a BIG birthday looming in your near future.  Don't dread it.  Celebrate it and YOU!  Because nobody else in this world has done the things you have in those years.  Your life is unique and beautiful just like you!

In case you were wondering, my birthday ended on a high note too.  Our good friends had 4 extra free tickets to see the Giants play.  I was able to take my husband, my dad and my grandfather as my dates.  The Giants won in the bottom of the 9th.  Now that's a pretty special way to celebrate your 40th birthday don't you think?

Everlasting Impressions

Friday we picked Yaya up after school and we headed to Six Flags to celebrate her "Gotcha Day" and my mom's 59th birthday. Yaya couldn't wait because we were meeting my aunt, uncle and cousins there. We road rides and had some amazing encounters with a few animals.

When I was about 7 years old I was picked out of the audience to play with Shamu the killer whale at Sea World. It was a moment that changed my life forever.  To this day I am infatuated with whales, dolphins and anything that lives in the ocean.  Touching Shamu's skin and tongue and then hugging him was a moment I'll never forget.  It changed who I was both inside and out.  I think Yaya may have experienced something very similar this weekend during one or two of our animal encounters.

While talking to one of the elephant's trainers I learned this beautiful elephant is 47 years old and she moved to Six Flags after spending most of her life at the Wild Animal Park in Southern CA.  The thing that makes her extra special to our family is this.  My parents took my brother and I to the Wild Animal Park almost every Friday as kids which means we have seen her before.  How wonderful and crazy is it that we got to spend time with an elephant from my childhood?  Even more incredible is the fact we all got to touch her.  Never in a million years did I imagine I would get such an opportunity.  Yaya was terrified of her at first but she warmed up and finally agreed to get within 2 feet of this amazing creature. 

I wonder if she remembers us too. 

The end of her trunk is shaped like a heart!  I'm convinced God shows us he loves us in nature all the time if only we would slow down and pay attention.

My dad ran over to us and told us to "Hurry!  Come quick!"  I sobbed tears of joy immediately when I saw my daughter and cousin, Brock playing hide and seek with these dolphins.  I hope this video I took makes you laugh and smile.  As Bird said, "The fact that they're wearing Superhero capes makes this moment all the more fun and special.  The entire scenario screams CHILDHOOD AT IT'S BEST!"

We stayed in the park for almost an hour after closing while the kids and dolphins played together.  We  even met one of their trainers, Ricky. He (Ricky) was so kind and seemed just as excited as we were to see the dolphins interacting with us the way they did.  He answered tons of our questions and was so sweet.  He even thanked us for playing with them.  It's moments like these that leave lasting impressions on a child and even adult's heart forever. 

I'm sure these two were smiling just for me.

   What I wouldn't give to know what these baby girls were thinking as they gazed into each other's eyes.

Our "Gotcha Day" and my mom's birthday couldn't have ended more perfect!

My Christmas Wish

I don't know about anyone else but I can't believe Thanksgiving has come and gone and the holiday season has begun.  What's more amazing is my sweet husband turned 40 today.  All day long I've looked into his eyes and just soaked him up.  I keep thinking there is no way Bird can really be 40.  In my mind he looks no older than he did the day I met him.  For crying out loud, he's a giant kid at heart through and through.  He runs circles around and whoops most people half his age on the track, basketball, racquetball or volleyball courts.

Another example of the kid in him occurred this morning as I watched him pretend to be Yaya's "Prince Charming."

He joyfully agreed to play Cinderella with her and she raced out of the living room leaving her "glass slipper" behind. 

He knocked on her bedroom door and asked her if she would try on the slipper. Wearing Cinderella's dress she nodded and allowed him to slip the shoe onto her foot.  Excitedly he exclaimed, "IT FITS PERFECT!  What is your name?  I've searched for you near and far!  Will you please be my bride?"  Witnessing moments like this makes my love and admiration for him grow even stronger.  I wish I could have snapped a picture of the dreamy lovestruck look on Yaya's face as he promised to love and cherish her forever. It was a PRICELESS.

Between the start of the holidays, celebrating Bird's 40th and seeing moments like these I'm feeling more than a little sentimental. So, I've decided this year my Christmas wish is this...I wish time would stand still or at least slow down long enough for me to really soak up and feel every second that seems to just keep flying by.

A Special Visitor

Tuesday afternoon a very special person came to stay for a few days, Bird's dad, also known as Boppy.  Do you see the resemblance? It was our first time having Boppy all to ourselves and we were thrilled.  Yaya couldn't wait to play with him, show him her new playroom and tell him everything she knew.  She even had stories picked out ahead of time for him to read to her.

Another special thing about his trip was he was sharing his 69th birthday with us.  We don't get to share many birthdays with Bird's family so we wanted to make sure and treat him like royalty.  Yaya was so cute.  When we picked her up from school she started planning this BIG party for him.  "Let's go get lots of balloons and a pinata for Boppy's party ok?"  It was hard for her to understand adults birthday parties aren't quite the same as kid's parties.  She even pretended she was baking his birthday cake all afternoon.  She kept stacking and restacking things around a candle I had sitting on a plate.  "Boppy, I made this birthday cake for you!" she'd say. She wanted his birthday to be perfect just as much as we did. 

We made Fillet Mignon with vermouth sauce, asparagus sprinkled with grated parmesan cheese and rice pilaf for his birthday dinner.  We treated him to a 90 minute massage for his gift and he requested Apple Pie with vanilla ice cream as his birthday dessert.  Like Yaya, I was thrilled to be able to make his birthday special. (This picture doesn't do his apple pie justice and I forgot to take a picture of the dinner we made.)

 Can you see how Yaya adores him?   She couldn't snuggle in close enough.  That night when he went to climb into bed he found her snuggled up in it and came to get us.  Yaya was so sad she couldn't sleep with him.  She thought it was funny he was scared he might squish her in his sleep. 

Birthday or not, in true Boppy fashion, he couldn't just relax. He needed a project so we put him to work.  We rent a pretty old house and the outlets no longer hold a plug for more than a few minutes.  Boppy replaced them all and showed Bird how to do it too.  I loved watching them work together.  Bird idolizes his father and misses times like this from his childhood so much.  It was a treat to see them share some quality time together playing Bacci, talking shop or just joking around.  My only regret is I didn't get a few more pictures of them together.  

Boppy, as soon as I picked Yaya up from school yesterday she asked where you were.  You were only here for a few days but it felt like you belonged here always.  It was such a treat to have you with us.  Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to swing our way.  We miss you already. 

Childhood Idols

A few weeks ago we spent the weekend in Reno for my aunt Sue's birthday.

How many guys does it take to light the candles on a cake anyway?

The birthday girl about to enjoy some Red Velvet cake.

Our family favorite. YUMMY!

The birds we gave Sue for her yard.

While we were there, Yaya followed her older cousins around like a little puppy. She couldn't get enough of them and thought they were sooo cool. They are too! Yaya is 8 years younger than Brock and 11 years younger than Shelby but she doesn't care. She's bound and determined to do everything they're doing whether it's playing on Brock's pirate ship,

swinging on the "Johnny Walker,"

swimming on Shelby's back or

playing with her make up.

Can you see how Yaya wants to be just like Shelby?

Here she spins in the outfit Shelby picked out for her birthday.

Does she look all grown up or what?!

Watching them all together made me recall summers spent with my cousins in Montana. Honestly, I think some of my happiest childhood memories were shared with them. I recall wanting to be just like my older cousins Erin and Missy. I idolized them too. My cousin Erin always knew some cool song or was making up a dance routines for us. We danced to Put'n on the Ritz, The Monster Mash and Crocodile Rock just to name a few. We practiced our routines over and over until the night before we were to leave when we gave our performance to the family.

I see the same look in Yaya's eyes I had all those years ago and I know like me she couldn't love them more.

SCOOBY DOO WHERE ARE YOU?

As you may have read, Yaya turned 4 on Wednesday though we didn't celebrate her birthday until yesterday. Bird wanted to be in charge of her cake and he ROCKED IT! It was a vanilla and chocolate marbled cake with vanilla pudding between the layers.

Close-ups from the front.

The bakery included a free bonus cake for the birthday girl.

I got to be in charge of the decorations and party favors.

ARE YOU READY TO PARTY?

Nana made this box into a puppet theater and

the kids loved decorating and playing in it.

Everyone received a Scooby mask and a bag of party favors.

Blowing out the candle and making her birthday wish.

Enjoying a little extra frosting.

Bird found Scooby Snacks made out of graham crackers. Of course Yaya pretended she was a dog and did tricks for the treats. She enjoyed making daddy Scooby work for treats too.

   Braydon loved the Scooby Dance CD I bought. This boy can DANCE!

"Who Let the Dogs Out?!"

Thank you Scooby for the fun party theme and

A VERY Special Thanks to all Yaya's friends and family who made her birthday so special.