my birthday

I just turned 32. Hard to believe, but nothing to worry about. I have already decided that aging is inevitable and I will embrace it with the most grace and energy that I possibly can. Someone called me a spring chicken today. Okay...so anyway, we spent my birthday down at the beach last week. Relaxing is not the word we use to describe our getaways and that's okay. We like to use the word enjoyable. Because they really are. We enjoy being with the kids, being with each other, without interruptions. It's just our little family.

Gigi and Papa treated us to the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach for an evening full of art, music and the sheer joy of sharing it with Madeline. When we finally got settled in the outside theatre and the first few statues were shown, Madeline leaned over to me and asked Mom, when is it going to get good? It was a 2-hour presentation of various paintings, statues and other historical art. Very fun and interesting to watch. She was captivated once the presentations were full of color and some included music and dance.

The next morning, after eating delicious eggs benedict and opening my beautiful presents, we took the kids to a park on the beach, played in the water, napped and then went back to the beach in the late afternoon. This has been one of my most memorable days so far. I can vividly see myself sitting in the wet sand next to Grant, Evan and Madeline as the water swam around us and then returned back to the ocean. Grant was burying and then finding his own treasures: clams, mussels and seashells. Madeline was lying in the sand waiting for the water to wash over her, while Evan discovered another food group: sand! He ate so much that we found it in his diaper the next morning...gross doesn't even begin to describe that experience. But we sat there for a good two hours, just playing, laughing, discovering, and enjoying each other.

Thank you, sweet family, for celebrating me. I know you love me, and yet, it's nice to be queen for a day.