"Happy 24th, Brooke!"
Let the celebrations begin! Today is the first in our week of birthday celebrations - Brooke, Erin and me and sandwiched there in the middle is Jesus.
Being the creature of habit that she is, we celebrate Brooke's birthday the same way each year - dinner out and a movie. Tonight's dinner was supposed to be Ethiopian fare, but the restaurant of choice was closed for a private party. How rude! Plan B was Indian food. It was a very good alternative.
Books have always a favorite gift of Brooke's. As of late, cookbooks are a safe bet. I have to laugh at the recipe she is showing us here. "Good Morning Sunshine Bars" - this kid does not use the words "good" and "morning" in reference to one another. We'll see if she actually makes these bars. Perhaps they will convince her that morning is an OK time of day.
Another birthday tradition for her is to go to a movie. This started on her third birthday, back in 1992, when we took her to see The Lion King, which was brand new. Where have the years gone! In the last few years, I have opted out of the movie routine. Brooke's taste in movies has evolved into one that enjoys intense drama and violence. I have not evolved much past The lion King in what I enjoy in a movie. She and her sister are now perpetuating the birthday movie tradition while I am at home watching a Barbara Walters special that I recorded last week. See. This explains why Brooke and I don't go to the movies together.
When she gets home from the movies, Brooke will begin baking her sister's birthday cake. This has become the newest element to her birthday traditions. As a baker herself, she never really wants a birthday cake herself. She is much happier with some kind of savory ethnic food.
Tomorrow will be another day of birthday celebration!
