Welcome to the Club

My birthday week ended Friday night with food, drink, and a little dancing at Cadillac Ranch in Tempe.  None of my 'girlfriends' came, but there were still lovely people there to help us celebrate.  Two of Rob's good buddies from ADOT came, along with our NMSU college friend Joel Navarro.  When Joel arrived he wished me a happy birthday and said "Welcome to the club!" I hadn't thought about it until Joel said it, but now I realize I've joined the 40 crowd - and that's okay.  So to celebrate my initiation, I had two pina coladas and 'shook' a tail-feather as they say.  Thanks to Rob for hosting the party and for putting so much thought into my 40th.  

You did good, honey!

But nothing beats a birthday celebrated with these two - (plus Rob, he's just not pictured)

Lordy, Lordy, Look Who's 40

So the big 4 - 0 has arrived and I must admit the number is older than I feel.  Sure I can't play tennis like I used to, but I can teach 140 or so adolescents every day, and keep the house fairly clean, while making sure my kids and husband are healthy and thriving.  So perhaps all those things are what keep me feeling younger than my age.  Or perhaps all those things are what cause my migraines? Well I'm not going to ponder that for too long.  Instead I'll share with you some highlights of my birthday day.

It started with the following sight as I walked into the kitchen.  Roses aren't a surprise on special occasion mornings, but this one was different.

Aren't they pretty?  40 roses, arranged quite nicely I might add.

For dinner the family went to Olive Garden and dined on delicious italian food galore.  Then it was back home for cake and presents.

  I couldn't decide on the type of cake, so I thought 'why not get both?'  So it was good ol' carrot cake and chocolate turtle cake.  Both yummy!  After cake it was time for cards and presents.  Spenser wrote me a beautiful poem and bought me a stylish necklace, and Rob of course went all out and got me tickets to the American Music Awards in LA.  So I'm off to sin city to hob nob with all the celebrities.  That should make for some interesting blogging!  Thanks to my wonderful family for the fun, love, and support!

Rob is also throwing me a party this Friday night which will involve some drinking and dancing.  So stay tuned for more 40 festivities!

14 Years

Rob and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary this past Wednesday, on July 28th.  Rob was in Washington, D.C. at the time so our commemoration occurred tonight.  I guess Red Lobster has become our anniversary tradition, and so we dined on shrimp, shrimp, and more shrimp.  Coconut shrimp, Walt's shrimp, shrimp scampi, and shrimp linguine, that's how we roll. 

It's been an amazing fourteen years, let's hope for many, many more!

 

The School Year Begins

So the first day of the school year for 2010-2011 begins........on July 26th!  Yes that's early, especially compared to you East Coasters!  But it is what we're used to here in Chandler.  You brave the sleet and driving snow, we brave the  H - E - A - T !  Here are some pics of the kids on that first day;

Spenser, our big 5th grader!

And Sienna, our big 7th grader!

Here is what Spenser's send-off looked like -

 

And here is what Sienna's send-off looked like -

Happy B-day Sienna!

On this day 12 years ago, at 6:20 a.m., our world changed forever with the arrival of Miss Sienna Rose.  Her introduction to this world came with some drama, WAY too much pushing, and what can only be described as an arduous labor.  It's hard to believe looking at her now that she was ever so small (not that 9 lb. babies are small)!

So now our 9 lb. baby is 12 years old and starting junior high - tomorrow! 

Happy Birthday Sienna Rose!

B-Day Bash #2

Every young girl loves a sleepover don't they?  And why not have a sleepover at a beautiful resort hotel instead of your everyday house.  Invite two friends, bring a suitcase, and enjoy the last few days of summer vacation.  That is basically how Sienna celebrated her 12 birthday.

So we stayed at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass in Chandler.  Here is a view from our balcony.  It was a beautiful place on the indian reservation, so very tranquil and relaxing.

They had a cool waterslide reminiscent of the Casa Grande Ruins, and Sienna and her girlfriends are at the top.  Our package also included breakfast for two, so I treated the girls to breakfast in the restaurant.  It was lovely!

The girls spent most of the time swimming and laying out poolside.  We also came in to town for shopping, eating at the mall, and going to the movies (Eclipse for the 3rd time).  Rob and Spenser joined us one evening for cake,presents, and a swim.  Great time!

Happy Birthday Sienna!  Now tomorrow will be birthday number three!  (And your actual birthday)

Happy 12th Birthday Sienna!

Since we were in California in the middle of July, it was a great opportunity to celebrate Sienna's birthday with the California contingent of our family.  So my parents hosted a small party for Sienna, which she loved, since this means she gets more than one birthday party!

Here is Sienna in Papa Rose's dining room with her cake and balloons!

Here are all the party attendees, minus Tots and Peggy, who had to leave for a concert.

Here is what entertained most during the party........guitar hero!

So that was party number one.  Stay tuned for party number two!