My birthday is my favorite day of the year. Yep, I like it even more than Christmas or Thanksgiving or Mother's Day. I wish EVERY day could be my birthday, but I guess that might be asking a bit too much. But when my birthday rolls around, I'm ready to celebrate!
I started out small. I bought myself two new canvases from the wedding to hang in our family room along with a small photo of the Detroit temple (a la Allison and Mark) and a large painting of the Washington DC temple (a la all the rest of us). The wall turned out pretty well.
But the best gift of the whole birthday season was slightly bigger and more expensive. I bought Glo a ticket home. Because I decided on it rather last minute, it was expensive, but once I had the green light from John, I was almost printing her boarding pass myself! And to be perfectly honest, I just wanted Glo to be happy while she was home so I planned some of the activities around her.
One of our favorite things to do is take a nap together, so when she flew in at 6 a.m. (after taking a red-eye here), we crawled into bed and slept until noon. Of course, this was not without drama. When I picked up Glo from the airport, she told me that she had been dehydrated the night before, hadn't had much to drink on the plane, drank a ton from a water fountain once she landed, and her belly wasn't feeling very well. I figured it would pass, but I knew something was up when she passed on an early morning drive through of McDonald's for her favorite smoothie. However, I wasn't going to pass up the chance for a sausage McMuffin sandwich (it being my birthday weekend and all). After paying at the first window, she tells me that she thinks she's going to throw up, so I tell her to either run inside...or go out in the trees and bushes adjoining the drive-thru. She pops out of the car, and I hadn't even gotten food from Window #2, before she jumped back in the car. Did she vomit? Yep. In the trees. And she felt much better ;-)
Never worry though about breakfast for the next few days. I had a dozen muffins from Grand Traverse Pie Company for us to snack on ;-) And what did Glo start doing when she woke up? She sat down at the kitchen table, opened one of my Games magazines, and had us work on a crossword puzzle together. WHAAAAAT?? A Kennedy kid doing a crossword puzzle? What universe am I in?? It was so much fun doing something that I thought only I enjoyed doing...with my favorite youngest child.
I know that something Glo loves about coming home is being outside. She can't get enough of the fresh air, and trees and blue sky. So I let her borrow my old pair of Hokas, and we went down to the Dexter path to see what was happening with all the rain and snow we've had lately.
Holy smokes, the sidewalk under the bridge was CLOSED, and although hearing that the water in the creek can become Class 3 rapids, I wouldn't have believed it until I saw it. As John says, if someone fell in, they'd be lost. The water was actually kind of scary because it looked so angry.
I had big plans for that night. We were headed to Novi to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner, and to a Michigan hockey game afterwards. The Cheesecake Factory is one of Glo's favorite joints because she absolutely loves their red velvet cheesecake. I let John get the entree that I wanted (chicken and biscuits), but my chicken parmigiana wasn't bad either. But the best part was my family singing to me over my own specially decorated piece of cheesecake. Man alive, it was so good.
Then we were off to the hockey game. Little did I know in the 47 years previous, but I love hockey. Granted, I don't understand much of what is going on when there are delays or penalties, but it's fun because it's basically non-stop football. So little commitment for parking or for time, and the game just flies (along with the puck into the stands occasionally). I was so happy to see that Glo and Mark liked it too! Glo isn't one to invest much of herself in watching sports (the phone always comes out), but she really enjoyed it.
The next morning, I just wanted the kids to exercise with me. I spend so much time exercising alone, and I like it when people are around, so I wanted that experience. What a good group of Kennedys who will do yoga with me first thing in the morning, and follow that up with running and walking along the Dexter path. The day was beautiful, and the time passed so quickly. I would give my right arm to have that experience every morning!
The water was still high, and it was crazy to see the entry points to the creek completely covered with water. In fact, last summer John took a picture of the two girls sitting on a rock with their feet in the water. I don't think that would quite be possible now!
We showered and got dressed quickly because Glo had a job interview at 1:00. Five minutes later, she ws out of the Dexter Creamery, proudly telling us that she had a job for the summer. YAY! I honestly couldn't decide where I wanted to go for lunch, but Mark and Allison had a terrific idea--how about a progressive lunch?
You know how we Kennedys are always creating new traditions? I do believe this will be one until I die.
We started out at Don Juan, ordering only water, chips and guacamole. Their HOMEMADE guacamole. It was so good that even Glo ate it! Just a few dollars later, we "yeeted" out of there, and headed downtown to KouZina, a Greek street food restaurant. When I've gone there before, I've just about died and gone to heaven over their kebaps, but this time mine was a little burned. Oh well. And for dessert? Baskin Robbins of course! Two scoops of pralines and cream, and I'm a happy birthday camper!
Then, John had to leave for the priesthood leadership session of stake conference, but the rest of us headed to *gulp* Kohl's (gah, I hate to even admit that I went there), and we found all that Baby #2 will need for the first few weeks. So many cute outfits! Things have come a long ways since I had baby boys, THAT'S for sure!
Also, we got pedicures. Even Mark came along. We tried a place in Ann Arbor, but I could tell it was going to take them a long while to get to us (despite having a million workers), so we drove back to Dexter and got right in. My nails were basically claws since they hadn't been done since the wedding, so I was mighty grateful to get them done.
That night was the adult session of stake conference, so we threw on our dress clothes and headed there. We had planned on going to a movie afterwards (Mark has been lamenting the fact that he hasn't seen a movie in forever), but we were all so tired. So, we came home and ordered "Justice League" on iTunes.
The next day was more stake conference, but as Glo puts it, it was nice to have shorter church on a Sunday when she's visiting (aka she has more time to spend at home). I was still feeling badly for Mark and so we decided to break the rules a bit and watch another movie. Don't ask me how, but we ended up watching Dr. Zhivago, a movie from the 60's that inspired my mother to name me Larisa. As with all movies from my youth, I remembered it quite differently from how it actually is. I guess I never processed the fact that I was named for a girl who was raped, abandoned and made a mistress. Wow. Nothing says Happy Birthday like THAT, eh? :-). Anyway, it will be a running joke between Mark and Glo and me for the rest of my life, no doubt.
And that night we finally had my party. Just a few fun but necessary gifts (including new Hoka One Ones), and a Bill Knapp's chocolate cake. I am so thankful though that my family knows me well enough to buy me things that I won't buy myself, but that I need. And a huge shout out to Cheese, buying me a book about 60 Minutes. It's all I can do to hold onto it and not read it before I head to Interlochen this summer. And the one gift that I didn't need, but will treasure for the next few weeks (if that..)? A box of cookies and candy from Sarah! #SheNeverLetsMeDown. We played games that Glo wanted to play...and I reigned supreme at Boggle once again, although I think with a bit of practice, Allison could give me a run for my money.
The only thing missing over my birthday weekend? The other family and friends whom I love who can't be here. Seriously, if I had a million dollars, I'd just move everybody who is important to me here. And I'd fly Hannie home <3.
But in the meantime, another tradition has begun: Baby sending me an annual birthday video, reminding me that I am HER tweshah :-)
I started out small. I bought myself two new canvases from the wedding to hang in our family room along with a small photo of the Detroit temple (a la Allison and Mark) and a large painting of the Washington DC temple (a la all the rest of us). The wall turned out pretty well.
But the best gift of the whole birthday season was slightly bigger and more expensive. I bought Glo a ticket home. Because I decided on it rather last minute, it was expensive, but once I had the green light from John, I was almost printing her boarding pass myself! And to be perfectly honest, I just wanted Glo to be happy while she was home so I planned some of the activities around her.
One of our favorite things to do is take a nap together, so when she flew in at 6 a.m. (after taking a red-eye here), we crawled into bed and slept until noon. Of course, this was not without drama. When I picked up Glo from the airport, she told me that she had been dehydrated the night before, hadn't had much to drink on the plane, drank a ton from a water fountain once she landed, and her belly wasn't feeling very well. I figured it would pass, but I knew something was up when she passed on an early morning drive through of McDonald's for her favorite smoothie. However, I wasn't going to pass up the chance for a sausage McMuffin sandwich (it being my birthday weekend and all). After paying at the first window, she tells me that she thinks she's going to throw up, so I tell her to either run inside...or go out in the trees and bushes adjoining the drive-thru. She pops out of the car, and I hadn't even gotten food from Window #2, before she jumped back in the car. Did she vomit? Yep. In the trees. And she felt much better ;-)
Never worry though about breakfast for the next few days. I had a dozen muffins from Grand Traverse Pie Company for us to snack on ;-) And what did Glo start doing when she woke up? She sat down at the kitchen table, opened one of my Games magazines, and had us work on a crossword puzzle together. WHAAAAAT?? A Kennedy kid doing a crossword puzzle? What universe am I in?? It was so much fun doing something that I thought only I enjoyed doing...with my favorite youngest child. |
| In a tradition I've done since I was little, we signed the puzzle when we were finished with it :-) |
I know that something Glo loves about coming home is being outside. She can't get enough of the fresh air, and trees and blue sky. So I let her borrow my old pair of Hokas, and we went down to the Dexter path to see what was happening with all the rain and snow we've had lately.
Holy smokes, the sidewalk under the bridge was CLOSED, and although hearing that the water in the creek can become Class 3 rapids, I wouldn't have believed it until I saw it. As John says, if someone fell in, they'd be lost. The water was actually kind of scary because it looked so angry.
I had big plans for that night. We were headed to Novi to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner, and to a Michigan hockey game afterwards. The Cheesecake Factory is one of Glo's favorite joints because she absolutely loves their red velvet cheesecake. I let John get the entree that I wanted (chicken and biscuits), but my chicken parmigiana wasn't bad either. But the best part was my family singing to me over my own specially decorated piece of cheesecake. Man alive, it was so good.
 |
| Can you see that our waitress wrote "Happy Birthday" in chocolate around the edge? |
Then we were off to the hockey game. Little did I know in the 47 years previous, but I love hockey. Granted, I don't understand much of what is going on when there are delays or penalties, but it's fun because it's basically non-stop football. So little commitment for parking or for time, and the game just flies (along with the puck into the stands occasionally). I was so happy to see that Glo and Mark liked it too! Glo isn't one to invest much of herself in watching sports (the phone always comes out), but she really enjoyed it.
The next morning, I just wanted the kids to exercise with me. I spend so much time exercising alone, and I like it when people are around, so I wanted that experience. What a good group of Kennedys who will do yoga with me first thing in the morning, and follow that up with running and walking along the Dexter path. The day was beautiful, and the time passed so quickly. I would give my right arm to have that experience every morning!The water was still high, and it was crazy to see the entry points to the creek completely covered with water. In fact, last summer John took a picture of the two girls sitting on a rock with their feet in the water. I don't think that would quite be possible now!
We showered and got dressed quickly because Glo had a job interview at 1:00. Five minutes later, she ws out of the Dexter Creamery, proudly telling us that she had a job for the summer. YAY! I honestly couldn't decide where I wanted to go for lunch, but Mark and Allison had a terrific idea--how about a progressive lunch?
You know how we Kennedys are always creating new traditions? I do believe this will be one until I die.
We started out at Don Juan, ordering only water, chips and guacamole. Their HOMEMADE guacamole. It was so good that even Glo ate it! Just a few dollars later, we "yeeted" out of there, and headed downtown to KouZina, a Greek street food restaurant. When I've gone there before, I've just about died and gone to heaven over their kebaps, but this time mine was a little burned. Oh well. And for dessert? Baskin Robbins of course! Two scoops of pralines and cream, and I'm a happy birthday camper! |
| So much deliciousness! |
Then, John had to leave for the priesthood leadership session of stake conference, but the rest of us headed to *gulp* Kohl's (gah, I hate to even admit that I went there), and we found all that Baby #2 will need for the first few weeks. So many cute outfits! Things have come a long ways since I had baby boys, THAT'S for sure!
Also, we got pedicures. Even Mark came along. We tried a place in Ann Arbor, but I could tell it was going to take them a long while to get to us (despite having a million workers), so we drove back to Dexter and got right in. My nails were basically claws since they hadn't been done since the wedding, so I was mighty grateful to get them done.That night was the adult session of stake conference, so we threw on our dress clothes and headed there. We had planned on going to a movie afterwards (Mark has been lamenting the fact that he hasn't seen a movie in forever), but we were all so tired. So, we came home and ordered "Justice League" on iTunes.
The next day was more stake conference, but as Glo puts it, it was nice to have shorter church on a Sunday when she's visiting (aka she has more time to spend at home). I was still feeling badly for Mark and so we decided to break the rules a bit and watch another movie. Don't ask me how, but we ended up watching Dr. Zhivago, a movie from the 60's that inspired my mother to name me Larisa. As with all movies from my youth, I remembered it quite differently from how it actually is. I guess I never processed the fact that I was named for a girl who was raped, abandoned and made a mistress. Wow. Nothing says Happy Birthday like THAT, eh? :-). Anyway, it will be a running joke between Mark and Glo and me for the rest of my life, no doubt.
And that night we finally had my party. Just a few fun but necessary gifts (including new Hoka One Ones), and a Bill Knapp's chocolate cake. I am so thankful though that my family knows me well enough to buy me things that I won't buy myself, but that I need. And a huge shout out to Cheese, buying me a book about 60 Minutes. It's all I can do to hold onto it and not read it before I head to Interlochen this summer. And the one gift that I didn't need, but will treasure for the next few weeks (if that..)? A box of cookies and candy from Sarah! #SheNeverLetsMeDown. We played games that Glo wanted to play...and I reigned supreme at Boggle once again, although I think with a bit of practice, Allison could give me a run for my money.
The only thing missing over my birthday weekend? The other family and friends whom I love who can't be here. Seriously, if I had a million dollars, I'd just move everybody who is important to me here. And I'd fly Hannie home <3.
But in the meantime, another tradition has begun: Baby sending me an annual birthday video, reminding me that I am HER tweshah :-)
What! I love pralines and cream ice cream and it's the only flavor I ever get at Baskin Robbins. How did I not know we had this in common? Sounds like an amazing birthday weekend! Love you!
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