HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GIGI! 83 Years and Counting...

We're having a spectacular week--JA and LE are here from Omaha visiting for almost a week, and every day has been packed with good stuff.

Gigi arrived yesterday afternoon, and she says it'd been quite awhile since she's had a birthday like today. LE wishes her a happy birthday early this morning--in her sweet and lispy little two-year-old manner. We all(5 adults and 2 little ones) go to The Golden Roll for a sushi/bento box lunch--tempura shrimp and vegetables, chicken teriyaki with rice, California rolls, spring rolls, a humongous caterpillar roll, and MA indulges in a Boston roll. JA and LE focus on their bring-along turkey and PB+J sandwiches, but JA adopts the use of chopsticks for eating and also a bit of drumming.

We each have our priorities for the afternoon--including naps, work, swimming, shopping, and baking cupcakes. It's still a secret, but there's a small vanilla cake hiding on the screened porch and Crate and Barrel presents in the trunk of my car.

After everyone is up from the napping part of the afternoon, we frost cupcakes and decorate with gummy fruits and cutout cookies. JA tempts Gigi with a big bag of gifts, telling her she can't open them until Grandpa gets home.

 

To thee, we sing... Happy Birthday, GiGi!

It's almost bedtime for the little ones when Grandpa arrives, so we quickly arrange our cupcakes onto tiered plates, add candles to the cake, and sing the birthday song to Gigi. After Gigi successfully blows out the 9 candles (one for each decade, and one to grow on), JA and LE dig into their cupcakes while the rest of us begin dinner preparations. In the midst of all this, JA supervises Gigi's gift opening, even tearing the envelope off the card--for her convenience!

Tonight's meal is Al Capone beef roast (from Caputo's), mashed potatoes, green beans Amandine, and watermelon-feta-mint salad. YUM! A very special birthday meal.

A very good day.