Birthday Blast Weekend

On Wednesday Matt's mom is turning 70 amazing years old (although she doesn't look a day over 50!) and instead of a present she could unwrap we decided to have an experiential weekend. (I think that's a word... if it isn't, I get credit for it, okay?)

By the way -- once everything was booked -- about six or seven weeks ago -- we told Mom about the entire plan so she could anticipate and do whatever fun stuff she wanted to look her best. I thought that was better that way... because who wants to be that one week away from a full overhaul at the beauty parlor and someone says, "Surprise, we're doing family portraits!"

Dan and Randy flew in from Los Angeles on Thursday night and took up residence in our guest room (formerly known as the office/catch-all room). Andrea and Brendan flew in from Las  Vegas the same night, and took up the guest room at Mom's. Friday there was a frenzy of activity during the day -- a hair appointment for Mom, lunch for Dan, Randy, Mom, Matt and I, a quick visit to his parents for Brendan and a visit to her old school for Andrea. Then the real flurry began: we all met up at our house, including my father in law, changed into our cute clothes and headed out the door to the regional park a couple of blocks away.

We had arranged to have a photographer meet us there and take all manner of family pictures -- Mom and each "kid," Mom with all her family, each family as its own unit, brothers together, siblings together, etc. -- and she was awesome! When I was looking for a photographer I was delighted to come across her website and see the various types of photographs she does, but even more so to see the relaxed, comfortable look on the faces of all her subjects! We spoke on the phone and connected immediately -- I warned her about Thomas, and she countered that she has a five year old son and fraternal twins that are 3 and a half! (She was sooo not fazed by Thomas!!) Her energy was calm, focused, happy and alert to the small moments -- in other words, perfect for a photographer of a big, gangly group of 8 grownups and 2 kids!

We got some great shots, and I can't wait to see the sneak peek we were promised in a few days... but in the meantime, I have a favorite "snap" of the experience to share here. :)

After the photo shoot we came back to our house and had take and bake pizza, salad, and drinks, plus a homemade pumpkin spice cake with numerical candles to represent both Matt's birthday (which is Friday) and Mom's birthday (Wednesday) to total 112. (I had to do the math a few times to make sure I was right... but 70 plus 42 does equal 112!) Thomas was in the other room when I brought the cake in to light the candles, but the second we began singing there was a thundering of kiddie paws and a flash of boy came by, blowing all three candles out in one passing flash!!

Saturday the crew went wine tasting and to lunch (although I stayed back with the kids, figuring we had childcare for later that night and I didn't want to overdo the sitter) and then Mom and her three grown children and their spouses went to a very nice restaurant and had a lovely dinner. I can't pronounce the food I ate, but it was delicious!

Sunday we had breakfast and visited with Dan and Randy some more, and Dan went to check in with their airline so they could get seat reservations. Alas, the flight was "oversold," and they were counseled to arrive at the airport 2 and a half to three hours early to see if they would get seats -- let alone choose where they were sitting! The airport is as big as a good-sized McDonald's, so it's sort of laughable to have to arrive that far ahead, but what are you gonna do? If need be, they'd get a flight home tomorrow first thing -- whee, another night! -- but they'd cross that bridge when they got there. With a deep breath or two (travel is soooo restful, isn't it?) they took off to visit another wonderful relative in Santa Rosa (a complicated extended relationship to describe, but she's my kids' grandma and we love her to pieces!). Andrea and Brendan and Mom came up here to visit for a bit longer, and Andrea decided she'd better check their reservations -- which were out of San Francisco, and therefore more complicated. (Also, she had made them at two separate times, because there was a chance Brendan was going to have to work through Friday, and Andrea wanted to come up on Thursday to see some friends, their journey home was actually on two separate flights about 45 minutes apart.) Andrea was horrified to discover that she'd accidentally booked Brendan on a flight FROM Las Vegas instead of TO Las Vegas. Arghhhh! A phone call and several dollars later, the situation was resolved -- and Brendan and Andrea got to fly home on the same flight, even!

Tonight the house is quieter, but it's a happy quiet, full of contented memories of laughter, hugs, and fun conversations. There was no bow on the present, but I know my mother in law was thrilled beyond words to receive her gift this year -- and she'll never forget the year she turned 70!