Birthday Fun

Well, I know it's a bit late but my birthday was a week ago today and it was awesome. First of all, two weeks before my birthday Ben and I went to "The Phantom of the Opera" put on by Dallas Summer Musicals at the Music Hall at Fair Park. It was INCREDIBLE!!!

We left the house a little later than we had planned so instead of having a nice sit down lunch like Ben had planned we grabbed some Jack-In-The-Box on the way out of town. While I love their burgers and curly fries I found this choice of dining to be of some slight concern. You see, I had bought a dress especially for this occassion and it happened to be WHITE! Anyone who knows me knows that getting my food on my clothes at every meal is my trademark move. So, I'm sure there were many people driving down I-20 that day who got a kick out of seeing some woman eating a hamburger with napkins tucked in the front of her dress and covering her entire body. However, it did the trick. I made it to Music Hall with no ketchup on my white dress. WHEW!!

When we got there it took us a minute to figure out where we were supposed to park because Fair Park is huge. Once we figured out where to go, we ended up in the valet lane. I was very shocked by my money conscious husband when he said "That's okay, we'll just have it valeted." I felt very pampered.

The show was fabulous. I think the only time I breathed was during the intermission. The rest of the time my entire consciousness was focused on what was going on on the stage. I've always loved the music, and I enjoyed the recent movie but this was an experience like none I've ever had. Hubby was also sweet enough to pay the ridiculous $10 for the souvenier program for me.

When the show was over we decided to head back toward home for dinner. So we came back to town and he took me to "On the Border" which is one of my favorite restauraunts. He dosen't like it much so we usually don't go. I'm telling you, I was queen for the day.

After dinner we went out to see my parents. They have never been much on the theatre but were sweet enough to listen patiently while I went on, and on, and on about how much I enjoyed the show.

The next day was Easter which we enjoyed with my whole family. It was lots of fun.

Then, of course, this past Monday was really my 31st birthday. My parents bought me a fruitless mulberry tree for my birthday. I'd been wanting a shade tree for the dogs. I wanted a fruitless mulberry specifically because there were two of them in the back yard of the house I grew up in and I spent many summer days climbing and sitting in those trees. So, my Dad called my husband on the Saturday before my birthday and tells him that he needs to dig a hole 5 feet in diameter and 16" deep. Needless to say, my hubby was not thrilled about this idea.

So, Sunday we get out and my hubby starts digging. There was lots of sweat and lots of moans and groans. He tells me to call my parents and have them go ahead and bring the tree over so he dosen't have to play in the dirt two days in a row. Mom and Dad show up with the tree and even though hubby was almost done with the hole at this point in time he was very gracious to have my Dad's help in finishing. Mom and I sat in the shade and watched while they finished digging and then put the tree and the dirt back in the hole. All in all, I think it took about 8 hours to get the whole project done. I came in and ordered pizza for the whole family.

On Monday, my acutal birthday, Mom and Dad came over. Mom made me sour cream enchiladas (my all time favorite meal), gave me some really pretty dragonfly earrings, and we all admired the tree and felt sorry for my poor hubby who was hurting very badly from all of his shovel work. He was in so much pain on Tuesday that he stayed home from work. Poor guy. Needless to say, I think he went above and beyond for my birthday this year on more than one day.