My Birthday

I suppose I ought to update about some of the fun things in our lives lately. My birthday is November 29 and it typically falls right after Thanksgiving. It is always pretty low key since we are traveling to see family or have just gotten back. As a kid, my friends were always doing family things, so we would have a party a week before or after, but it was usually really laid back. Last year I spent my 30th birthday packing suticases and making arrangements to head back to Salt Lake to be with my grandpa. We went to dinner with my brother and his family as they were driving back through from California, which was fun, but we all went to bed early so that we could head out at 3:30. It wasn't such a fabulous birthday or a great way to celebrate turning 30, but hey, that seems to be my life.

To be honest, I wasn't expecting much this year because money is so tight. All I wanted was for Derrick to help the kids do a few small things for me so that we could teach them how to celebrate birthdays. What I got was so much more!

A week before my birthday, Derrick came back from shopping with the kids and gave me my birthday presents early. He was heading to New Orleans the day after my birthday, so he wanted to make sure that I got a chance to use it. He gave me a bunch of bath stuff and some slippers and a sweatshirt. I think he really just wanted me to know that he put a little thought and effort into it and finished his shopping before the day of.

Derrick had the whole week of Thanksgiving off, which was really great. We got to spend time together as a family and it was very nice to have help with the kids. He had to run into the office that Monday and found a flyer about a Jodee Messina concert that was free to people in his office. He thought it sounded fun, but it was on a Sunday and I didn't want to go on a Sunday. He called anyways and pulled a few strings and got us tickets for Friday night instead. We had swapped baby-sitting with some friends, so instead of a movie, we planned on going to the concert. A few days later, he saw an ad on facebook for the Transiberian Orchestra. I told him I had always wanted to go to it. I didn't think anything else about it until I got back from picking up a few things that we needed for Thanksgiving. When I got back, he had this big grin on his face and asked if I could find a babysitter for Friday afternoon-- he had pulled a few more strings and gotten tickets for us to go see them.

So, Friday, we had a babysitter come and watch the kids in the afternoon and we went to see the Transiberian Orchestra. We got to sit in a VIP box and everything. It was a pretty incredible show. The laser show, along with the music made for great entertainment. I went into the day thinking that I would like this show the best, based on what I had heard from friends.

However, I have to say the Jodee Messina show was my favorite. My friend went over and picked up my kids and gave Hallie her medicine. We grabbed a quick bite to eat then went to the concert. We had VIP seating, so they seated us 7 rows straight back from her. It was in the ballroom at the Atlantis, so it was a very small room to begin with. When she came out, she told us that she basically wanted us to feel like we were in her music room at home, hanging out with her band. We could make requests, ask questions, anything that we wanted. We got to hear the inspirations behind songs and why certain songs were her favorite. We really got to see her personality and it was a lot of fun. We even got to hear a song she had written that will be released in January.

My birthday was on a Sunday this year and Derrick let me sleep in. Well, I should say, he let me go back to sleep after I dealt with Hallie. The kids and he made breakfast for me (ham and cheese omelets), then we headed to church. After church, they made dinner with my favorites (or their version of it). We had rib eye steaks (Derrick's favorite cut right now, although I had told him I had been wanting a steak for a while), rice a roni (Carson was SURE this was my favorite), and strawberries (which really are my favorite). Derrick even got the kids ready for bed, including Hallie. All in all, it turned out to be one of my better birthdays, so thank you Derrick!