Birthday Activities

In order to celebrate my birthday AND cope with the brutal heat, Laurel and I decided to head up to the shopping center up the road from us so she could run through the fountains. Laurel enjoyed cooling off in the water, but mom and Andrew were sitting on the sidelines baking in the hot afternoon sun. After about 30 minutes, Andrew grew tired and cried for some cooler air (so did mom). We decided to take a break and buy an iced strawberry lemonade at the cafe inside Barnes & Noble. The lemonade was disappointing and what was even more disappointing is that our Barnes & Noble does not carry Italian cream sodas, a staple in our family diet! Dale and I are very fond of Italian cream sodas because we frequently went to Borders and Barnes & Noble in Provo while we were dating just so we could buy those. Thank heavens for Cost Plus and Torani syrups!


When Dale got home, we headed for another favorite spot for dinner. Sonoma Bar and Grill is a great restaurant here in our town, but for some reason, it wasn't as good this time. It was still a great birthday experience because I didn't have to do clean up in the kitchen . . . what a nice break! Opting to skip a birthday cake this year, I chose to stop by Culvers for some frozen custard. I broke my diet for the night (poor Andrew) but it was enjoyable and a great gift for a gal who hasn't enjoyed dairy and soy products for 8+ months. I still can't believe I've made it that long - anyone who knows me well enough knows that dairy (especially ice cream) is a very important staple in my diet. I tell ya, the things you'll do for your children!


We ended the night with gifts and a little more time with the family. Dale is buying the family a grand piano in the next 1-2 months, so I told him to please not buy me anything. He still bought me a nice grill cookbook by Bobby Flay, which was very sweet and unexpected. I'm looking forward to learning how to grill better. Thanks for a very memorable 32nd birthday! Here is a picture of our family after we opened presents - you can tell by the wall in the background that we will be painting our kitchen in the very near future.