Almost 13

Tomorrow is Ethan's 13th birthday. I know that becoming a teenager is a BIG DEAL, but so is turning 12 (when you are a Mormon, that is). And so last year was the big friend party. That means that we are in our "celebrate with family" year. That mainly consists of choosing the dinner menu and your choice of cake, with or without ice cream. Then there are presents, of course. Ethan wanted Shepard's pie, cantaloupe, garlic bread and an ice cream cake.  His birthday list is as follows: A sword, a new bike, a bag of Garden Salsa Sun Chips, a bag of sour cream and onion Sun Chips, and a pocket knife.

All this was on the agenda for tomorrow, but then we decided we better git ourselves on down to Arkansas to visit with Mark's grandmother (Lucille...92!). She and Aunt Anne and Uncle Roger are going to be there for a visit, so it is an opportunity for Grandma Lucille to MEET OUR KIDS.  All 6 of the them.

Yes, it is possible that we haven't been great about visiting extended family members. Though, in our defense, we've been busy.  Having 6 kids.

So there's that.

So we moved the birthday celebration up to today and I was able to make good on the promise of cantaloupe and garlic bread, but the main dish in the works was Chicken Cordon Bleu casserole over rice. That is particularly unfortunate because rice is Ethan's cryptonite. He is not a fan.

But he took it like a champ and we agreed we would whip up a batch of Shepard's pie just as soon as we had some leftover mashed potatoes from a lovely Sunday roast dinner. He was quite understanding and even went so far as to say, "Mom, we gotta go see Great Grandma. That's a once in a lifetime opportunity. I have a birthday every year."  I was half proud and half eaten alive by guilt.


I get a kick out of the fact that everybody seems to be ready to pray...except Mat, who is doing some sort of musical number, and of course, me...who is undeterred from taking photos.

But then he opened his SWORD.

And he got that look. The look that only a 13 year old boy can have for his sword.

And then we had a big slice of ice cream cake. And I had a little moment where I was eating this hybrid of a birthday treat and I thought, "huh. This is some pretty good cake, I mean, ice cream. I think I like this idea. I think we should do this again."

Then Mark took Ethan out and bought him a new bike.

All of this, and he hasn't even turned 13 yet. Amazing.

But the fun really begins tomorrow when he gets to spend 3 1/2 hours in the car with the movie "Frozen". The birthday miracles just keep a comin.