Happy Birthday To Us!

Greg and I celebrate our birthdays two days apart.

I'm pretty sure this fact alone sealed our fate as eternal companions.

Who wouldn't want ONE HUGE party that essentially lasts three days?!?

For Greg's birthday, we went to see "Wicked" in Phoenix. We saw it for the first time the summer of 2004 and have seen it two additional times since then. Each of the viewings have been in the "nose bleed" section of the theater because we were cheap.

We decided that if we were to see it a FOURTH time, we better make it worth our time. So, we bit the bullet and paid for REAL seats. It was worth every penny. Seeing a show up close is a different experience than sitting in the back. We really really enjoyed our Elphaba - who was the "stand by". And the show is just as magical, even for returning audience members.

We enjoyed a fantastic dinner at Pita Jungle before the show with Greg's brother Jeff and his wife Michelle, who happened to purchase tickets to Wicked on the same night 6 months ago, without even knowing we were going. SO FUN!!

After Wicked we got a room at the "Arizona Biltmore" - which is a five star resort in Phoenix, who has KILLER prices during the summer months, when no sane person would consider visiting our desert. My wonderful sister Laura, watched Emma for the night as her birthday gift to us. And it was the BEST gift ever. First time leaving her over night. Didn't phase any of us.

Saturday morning I gave Greg his traditional breakfast at Denny's. YUCK. I hate the place. Greg loves the place. So every year, as an annual sacrifice of my undying love and affection for him... I let him eat his Denny's breakfast.

Laura brought Emma up to the resort after our breakfast and we enjoyed a lovely morning of swimming in the pools and water slides. Such a fun way to spend a Saturday!


Saturday evening we gathered in the "Pope Room" at Buca Di Beppo for a hilarious dinner with friends. It was a great table for so many people and I think I burned off my fattening Italian dinner with laughter. Besides Greg and I, Jeff Andersen celebrates his bday on July 23rd. I guess the three of us are basically triplets. Can you see the resemblance?

As we didn't get quite enough Italian on Saturday, we decided to throw a pizza party on Sunday... my actual bday. Unfortunately, we had so much fun, that my camera was never busted out to catch the group. Everyone got their own homemade crust and then added their toppings of choice.

Emma chose this special day of her mother's birth to pull out her "devil child" behavior. In her 18 months of living, this was her worst day yet. Nice timing, Emma. She wouldn't let me lead the ward choir, so I held her on one side of my hip and tried to conduct with the other free hand. She scratched my face and pulled my hair in sacrament meeting while I was standing up with her in the back. Refused to attend nursery without me by her side. Cut her nap short by an hour and screamed 75% of the time while we had company over. It was really lovely. Luckily, my angel child returned on Monday and we have had a great week since.


We enjoyed our fourth evening of celebration on Monday night with Greg's family. They were kind enough to host a party for us! We had scrumptious Barro's pizza and a yummy cake. They got us such a fun gift of a homemade ice cream maker, after our unsuccessful attempt to find one while at the cabin. We are SOOOOO excited to try it out!!

WHEW!! We had so much fun this week. Can't wait for next July!

And we are still enjoying free meals at a variety of restaurants that offer "birthday meals".... so that should stretch the celebrating through this weekend. For those of you interested, our favorite "no strings attached" free birthday meals are: Spicy Pickle, Daphne's Greek Cafe, Kona Grill, Rubios, Krispy Kreme (free dozen donuts), Moe's, Red Robin, Cold Stone and 31 Flavors (free ice cream). At Beni Hana you can get $30 off of your meal which is a pretty great deal.