No, I'm talking about the festive double celebration of my birthday and Jenna's birthday, Oct 24 & 26. We had an extended celebration, spanning almost 6 days, which is only fitting given the focus of this delightful holiday. There's no way you can contain all the fun and frivolity that encompasses Rich and Jenna and try to cram it into only 1 or 2 days.
We started with a mild commemoration on Thursday the 22nd. We had to do it then because Karen, Em and Anya were headed to Vegas to play slots, er, I mean to attend a mom/daughter conference (although Anya caught the previously mentioned peccary flu and had to stay home. Very sad for her.) so they were going to be gone on the Saturday of my actual birthday.On that Thursday, Karen got me a fabulous novel, The Help. And Jenna gave me a hand decorated/framed pic of her and one of both of us, as well as a hand designed birthday container loaded with yummy chocolate. We can always count on Jenna to give gifts that are creative, lovingly crafted and fun to look at. They teased me with the news that we would really celebrate my birthday on the next Tuesday, but that's all they'd say.
I was all a-quiver wondering what was in store.Karen and Em returned home on Sunday and then Monday began the celebration of Jenna's birth. We opened presents, ate her meal of choice (Poppyseed Chicken Casserole) and feasted on Jenna's and my selection for cake, a fantabulous made-from-scratch chocolate cake that makes all of us moan with delight.
After that rousing chorus, Jenna opened her gifts.
This was a punch card of sorts, allowing Jenna to demand that Emily accompany her to our local park 11 times.
The next night was Tuesday, and I arrived home thinking there might be a surprise waiting, but alas, no. We all had dinner together rather uneventfully, although everyone had sheepish grins on their faces at various times during the meal.After dinner, Jenna asked me to read a book with her and while she was reading, Anya came up behind me and blindfolded me as they all announced that I was being kidnapped.
They escorted me to the van (without hurting me, I might add) and we headed off to a mystery destination. Well, it was sort of a mystery. They tried to disorient me by making lots of detours, but I still knew where we ended up: a local outdoor mall. However I didn't know why we were there. They dragged me, still blindfolded, from the car and after a short walk removed my blindfold to reveal our secret destination.
Color Me Mine is a pottery store where you get to paint your own ceramics. They have tons of stuff, everything from mugs to bowls to figurines to vases. You select your ceramic then have fun creating a design to put on it. Once you know what you want to do, it's time to let the artistic juices flow.
It was a fabulous evening. We had such a great time just hangin' together and painting our cups, plates and bowls.
Karen didn't create anything. She enjoys the fellowship more than the art. The art is too much pressure for her.Here's what they looked like after we finished painting.
Mine is the mug on the left, Jenna's is the cereal bowl, Anya's the tall mug, and Emily's the plate.The inside of Jenna's bowl.
The colors are muted until they go through the kiln, after which they appear vivid and bold.The finished products were ready three days later.
We're all drinking and eating from our new objets d'art. Everything tastes better when you eat or drink it out of something you made.
Especially that chocolate cake.
1 comment:
Happy birthday everybody! And I'll have to add The Help to my reading list. Have you read Her Fearful Symmetry yet? I'm only about 1/4 of the way through it so far - it's no Time Traveler's Wife, but good so far!
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