Day 1

My husband informed me just before I went to bed that the next day I needed to keep my evening clear and that I needed to dress up. That’s all he said. It’s very rare that he leaves me hanging like this or that he surprises me out of the blue like this, so I spent some time thinking about what he could be up to instead of sleeping like I should. The following night, he came home from work, we got all dressed up, and got into the car where he informed me that we were picking up our double dates.

On our way, I found out that we were going to a dinner theater. I’ll tell you that it’s been years (14-18 years, in fact) since I last went to this type of venue. Our doubles ended up being his parents, we just moved back to our hometown, so I wasn’t too surprised that they were our doubles. They’re great company, so I was excited. None of us had heard of the production, 42nd Street, so we weren’t sure what to expect. It was also opening night.

If you live in Northern Colorado, I definitely recommend going to 42nd Street at the CandleLight Dinner Theater. 42nd Street is a musical that includes tap dancing and is about the behind the scenes experiences of the cast for the fictitious broadway production Pretty Lady. The female cast members not only tap danced, but in 2 inch heels! The audience was very energetic, especially for an opening night, which I’m sure supplied the cast with the enthusiasm for an even more moving production.

Day 2

My daughter and I planned a Mommy-Daughter date for hair cuts and styling with my sister-in-law in the morning. With so many boys in the house, it’s great to get a way.

In the afternoon, some friends dropped by to chat and deliver a Symphony bar. I’m not sure if they knew to make sure it included nuts to insure that I got to eat it or not. However, anything with nuts is mine due to some nut allergies in the house.

Day 3

One of my favorite things to do is spend time in the great outdoors. I didn’t know that my husband and 4 of my kids (the other 2 were at a merit badge university) planned a hike along some foothills and hogbacks in northern Colorado. We hadn’t taken this trail before. It was beautiful and included signs that described what we were seeing- making it a nature trail. My kids’s skills at finding small birds that blended in with the plants improved quickly. Beautiful! On the way home, we stopped at a candy store we saw on the way there. Yum!

Day 4

It’s very rare that I, like many other parents and caregivers, get to watch a movie straight through. My family spent some time watching movies and other activities while making it possible to watch my favorite version of Pride and Prejudice. There still were a few interruptions, but there was a lot more continuity than usual to my movie watching. Now, if you haven’t see this version of Pride and Prejudice, it may help to know that it was a Masterpiece miniseries that was put into DVD form. There are 2 discs because it is approximately 4 hours long. Don’t worry, you don’t have to watch it straight through. They’ve broken it up into four 1 hour segments. What I like about it is that this version seems to be truest to Jane Austen’s book. The actors and actresses don’t have noticeable makeup- think mascara, eyeliner, etc- because that wouldn’t have been true to the time period. I also like that the caste doesn’t have the typical string bean physique on the females and the bulked up bodies on the males. They look like REAL people.

Day 5 Part 1

The big day- my actual birthday! Some of my kids drew pictures for my gifts. I love their art and posted it around the house to enjoy. I also, as you can see, took pictures so I  can remember them long after they fall apart or get lost. I love these gifts from the heart!

Day 5 Part 2

One of my sons made cookies the night before and we enjoyed them instead of cake. I do enjoy cake, but wasn’t interested in making my own cake. While we were at the park (see part 3), my sister-in-law dropped off some chocolate chocolate chip cookies. We enjoyed both sets of cookies. Yum!

Day 5 Part 3

Not wanting to make lunch or make a mess in the kitchen, I took the kids to Sam’s Club and picked up a deluxe pizza and salad. Then, we met my husband at a park and had lunch.

Day 5 Part 4

My oldest son went to our DVD collection and picked out some movies that he knows I like to watch. I was interested in them all, except for Hillary’s America- that’s too serious for a birthday celebration. I ended up choosing Harry Potter because my kids would watch with me. In our house, the kids must read the books first so they’re prepared for the movie content. However, I let it slide just this once and let 1 or 2 of them watch that hadn’t read the books yet. We watched the first 2 movies.

All in all, I say it was a great 5 days. I always treasure experiences over wrapped gifts (though I do like gifts, too). My husband did sneak a Raspberry Cheesecake Gelato into my freezer for me to eat on another day. I chose to eat it today- which would make that day 7. It was fabulous!

What do you like to do for your birthday?