Growing Up

This week Meg turned eleven.

We have had a family tradition of going to Point Defiance Zoo on her birthday. Since Meg was born so close to Mother's Day her birthday weekend falls around Mommy & Me day at the Zoo. This is a special event the zoo holds every year to raise money. Imagine the Zoo on steroids. There are clowns walking around performing, stilt dancers in the most amazing costumes, Krispe Kreme donuts for free (need I say more?), face painting booths, craft tables, Weird Science the traveling science show from the Seattle Science Center, and various kid focused musical artist.
Then there are your basic zoo activities, the tigers, elephants, walrus, beluga whales, and countless other animals.

Then after a full day at the Zoo we would go to the Rainforest Cafe for dinner and a Volcano Cake. If you have never been to a Rainforest Cafe it is a great experience. The restaurant is decorated like a tropical jungle. It is dark, leafy, and tropically warm. There are animated animals hidden troughout out the trees. Every fifteen minutes or so there is a thunder storm, with lightning, this excites the animals who all make noise and move around. A Volcano Cake is a delicious fudge brownie cake built around a vanilla ice cream center with sparklers coming out of the top. It is big enough to serve about eight people.

Great Grandma and Great Grandpa, The Aunts and cousins, Grandma and Grandpa, and a few others have joined us in this yearly event. It's also a nice way to get to see everyone and say "Happy Mother's Day."

Last year, I made a big mistake. I let the homeschool convention be scheduled on Mother's Day weekend. I foolishly thought that I could "bump" Meg's birthday to a different weekend. I was wrong. I got to help with all of the convention planning, set up, class scheduling, and other details. Diana Waring was our Keynote Speaker. She is one of my favorite homeschool speakers of all time! I was going to get to meet her! Yeah!

Then I told Mr. March...Let's just say, he let me know that I had made a mistake. So I did all my convention jobs. But I was not at the Convention. I was at the Zoo. At one point I was answering phone calls on my cell about workshop instructors. After the fifth phone call, Mr. March took my phone. I am proud to say, the convention went on beautifully with out me!

This year when the convention was planned, I made sure it was NOT on Mother's Day weekend. I had learned my lesson!

Then in late April Mr. M. sat me down and said "I know your probably going to cry about this.. but Meg and I have been talking. This year she wants to go see Prince Caspian for her birthday." I was stunned! I was planning on going to the Zoo! Family members had taken the day off! Prince Caspian doesn't even open until the next weekend, and, and,

I didn't get to go to the zoo this year. In fact I spent the whole day organize menus, meal plans, and recipes. I even computerized my pantry.

Yesterday, we went to see Prince Caspian. Meg friend M1 spent the night. Then we went to Red Robin for lunch. They don't have Volcano Cakes and no the mud pie is not the same! Meg got lip gloss, a Coach Purse (See Sage Mommy, I know what a Coach purse is!) and multiple rockets. My little girl is growing up. Nothing was pink, or purple. Black is becoming the color of choice.

I wonder if Amy wants to go to the zoo for her birthday?