How to Celebrate a January Birthday...

Last week I celebrated my birthday.  And, it was a big one.  And, it was in January.

Could it be more depressing?

Luckily for me, it was the furthest thing from depressing.  In fact, it was pretty close to heaven.  You see, I got to spend my birthday here and it was warm and sunny and glorious.

Siesta Key Beach, Florida

I started off my birthday with an early morning walk along the beach with my good friends, Brandon Flowers and Taylor Swift.  I looked for beautiful seashells and felt the soft, white sand between my toes. (Which, by the way, is the most amazing feeling a person can have in the middle of January.)  I walked a long way and thought about the past ten years - and contemplated the next ten years - and felt pretty good about all of it.  It was a perfect way to start off my birthday.

When I got back to our condo, I was greeted by my six favorite people who had been hard at work to surprise me.  They had decorated the whole condo with streamers and balloons and they were so excited to wish me a Happy Birthday and to blow their party horns for the next hour and a half.

Andrew didn't make it into the picture - but he's included in "my favorite people."

I spent my day on a lounge chair enjoying things I love - namely, my family, the beach, blue skies, sunshine, and Diet Coke.

Can't have a January birthday without a snowman.  We called this one, "Sno Rida."

Andrew and Isaac

It doesn't get better than this...

My birthday ended with a family dinner, a dessert sampler (that was devoured in about 45 seconds),

And an incredible sunset we watched from our balcony.

I ended the day much the way I started it; feeling so blessed. by people and goodness in my life.  It was the perfect way to go from one decade to the next.  And I hope that this new decade will bring as much joy as the last one.

And when we got home from our trip, I found perched high in our 60-foot pine tree, Andrew's tribute to my birthday.  Lucky for our neighbors, they got to enjoy this beautiful site, the whole time we were gone.  At least there isn't any doubt in anyone's mind just how old I am.

And that's how you do a January birthday!

Summer Beach Trip 2011

With five little kids, there is nothing better than trip to the beach.  Sand, salt water, and sea air fuel energy levels and imaginations for days on end.

Here are a few of the highlights:

The beach brought out Andrew's inner acrobat.

It brought out Lucy's inner fashionista:

And sun-worshipper:

Peter mastered the aerodynamics of flying a kite.

Abby painted the nails of every person who would hold still long enough to let the nail polish dry.  (Brothers and uncles included.)

Abby shows off her 4th of July manicure.

Uncle GK shows his love for Susanna.

Susanna shows off her 4th of July firework theme.

Isaac spent hours each day building elaborate tunnels and castles in the sand.   

He was also fearless about swimming in the ocean.  Almost every night, he and Andrew would head out into the surf for a night swim and Isaac loved every minute of it.  For an entire week, he and Abby dominated the world of boogie boarding and body surfing.  It was fun to see them conquer the ocean during this trip.

Henry had a great time playing with cousins.  He kept everyone entertained with his funny personality - one way or another. 

We had a celebration for Andrew's mom who just completed her Master's Degree in education.  (Way to go Ann!)

(The celebration also included a Maypole dance down on the beach and a dead seal that washed ashore at an inopportune time, but some images are better left to the imagination.)

I was reminded that I have always longed to have a lemon tree growing in my back yard.  (This would be heaven for me!)

And I was also reminded how lucky I am to be married to this guy and be a part of his family.   

We ended the trip by meeting up with some of our dearest friends in Seal Beach and celebrated the 4th of July with them.  It was the perfect way to end the trip.

We all drove home feeling grateful for this amazing country we live in, for a great family and for dear friends.  It doesn't get any better than that.

Spring Break 2011

After a crazy couple of weeks of plays, dance recitals, baseball games, tee ball games, soccer games, and a week of Andrew working nights, we were exhausted but thrilled when spring break finally rolled around.  Before school even ended for the break, we loaded up the car and drove to the beach house for a week of no schedule, no practicing, no school - just lots of relaxing and lots of fun.  It was just what we all needed.

In the mornings, my kids loved going for walks along the beach to look for sea creatures in the tide pools.

In the evening, we loved watching for dolphins swimming off the shore as the sun set.

Isaac loves getting in on the action of a "photo shoot."

The kids loved cheering for Andrew while he went for a freezing swim at sunset.

Peter kept a close look out for dolphins.

Henry had a great time showing off his "guns."  Luckily, for him, we weren't at Muscle Beach.

Lucy loved watching the surfers while working on her barre exercises.

It was the perfect week of playing, relaxing, eating In-N-Out, and spending time together with family and friends.  It went by way too quickly.  But when it was time to come home, the kids did a great job of helping us scour the beach house til it shined.

As we loaded up the car to drive home,  we looked back at the ocean to say good-bye one last time, and saw this.  

It only cemented our plans to get back to the beach as soon as possible.  

Finally, our thanks to whoever it was that thought of "Spring Break." You are awesome!

 It was exactly what our family needed.