I really enjoyed my birthday week!
Mom planned a birthday party for me which took place in Yellow Grass on Sunday. I love that all of my hometown family members were there -- Mom and Dad, Rob, Robyn, Ethan, Jordyn, and Kacy. Plus, my Grandma Mantay, Aunt Colleen, and my Grandma Byrns were there! How special it was to have both of my grandmas in the same place at the same time! I think the last time (and perhaps the only other time) I saw both of my grandmas together was at my wedding in 1999. Neil took some pictures of the three of us.
Mom prepared a wonderful lunch which included Chicken Crunch, a favourite recipe from my childhood. She also made Daffodil Cake (an old recipe from Mom's family; similar to an angel food cake, except egg yolks are incorporated into part of it) with white frosting, and served it with a whole raspberry sauce. Yum! Everything was great. Thanks again, Mom!
After lunch, I enjoyed visiting with everyone and looking through my genealogy files to find some information for my nephew who needed it for a social studies assignment. Robyn had asked me about it on Friday and it was perfect timing since we would see them on Sunday. The six kids and two dogs pretty much occupied themselves all afternoon while the adults visited. It was lovely!
On my birthday morning (Wednesday), the girls gave me their homemade cards and gifts -- a box of rocks from Georgia, two rocks and a laminated picture from Madeline, and a balloon from Sophia. Throughout the day, I received many birthday wishes via email and Facebook (birthdays and FB are a great combination!). In the afternoon, I was invited out for coffee with some coworkers in my current work group. We were also celebrating my coworker's 50th birthday the same day!
After work, Neil made a delicious supper of grilled steak (my favourite Herb & Mustard Steak), oven roasted potatoes and carrots from our garden, and spaghetti squash. He also made a very nice Mexican chocolate birthday cake (a teaspoon of cinnamon added to the cake mix makes it Mexican) with chocolate Fluffy Frosting (my go-to recipe for easy icing). L&B joined us for supper and cake after B's piano lesson. They gave me a gift card to get my nails done. I look forward to it!
After the kids were in bed, Neil and I watched Rubicon; the last one we had recorded. Great show! (We were very happy to get caught up on that because I'm on the employee trial for new Max and we could get the upgrade any time now.)
