Maria's 34th birthday

I tend to blog so I don't forget things.  I am learning that I need to start blogging RIGHT AWAY when an event occurs that I want to remember.  There is so much "in daily life" that takes my brain space that crowds out the things I want to record.  Maybe it is age. HAHA....I'm blogging about a birthday and can't remember all the details I want to.  But I sat down in the noise of my house with 7 children (3 cousins are visiting), the piano is blaring Mission Impossible and the kids have discovered the tempo button that speeds it up incredibly fast.  Its kinda hilarious and annoying at the same time.  I think it is Wes and Eli.  Calvin and Austin are playing legos, and Violet, Renee, and Vanessa are coloring.

Anyway - I remembered pieces of my birthday and they don't involve me, but the kids.  Vanessa decided to put on her party dress - which is a bright orange ruffly dress she was gifted for her birthday a few weeks ago.  Calvin put on his "The Special Has Arrived" Lego shirt, and told me I was the special one.  Violet spent an hour wrapping a present for me and included wrapping paper cutouts that said "I *heart* U" on it.  My grandmother Rowena made hamballs and cheese grits (Violet helped her on Sunday the 28th) and my mom brought carrots, and Dave made me brownies.  Earlier in the day when the kids sang me happy birthday, Eli said the name "Emily" in the song since we sang the birthday song to our cousin Emily and recorded it and sent it to her on facebook a few days earlier.

The morning of my birthday the kids and I had gone out shopping at Walmart for food that I'd planned out for the LaMarche family visit.

My brother Jay came up from backbone state park, my parents drove down to help celebrate, and my sister and grandma came from in town.  Dinner was delicious.  I was gifted some new t-shirts, a necklace, some money, and a pretty shell/beaded purse for the days I'm more dressy.  My dad sang the song he wrote at my wedding, too.  I was going to put the lyrics but I can't find where I put the papers.  I know my dad has `em.

The sun set in the sky and looked incredibly orange, and the moon rose in the sky and also looked orange.  I guess there were a lot of forest fires up north and created a hazy/colorful sky over Iowa for a few days.  It was also an evening where Jupiter and Venus looked as though they were "on top of each other" in the sky.  Eli saw the sun/moon and said, "I looks kinda like a jupiter!"

Dave and I spent the evening installing the last of the carpet tiles in the basement and carrying down the last four theater chairs to set it in time for family to arrive.  I think we were up til 2:30 am!  I know, we're crazy.  But it was so worth it!