I remember being woken up one summer morning with a camera in my face, surprised that it was my birthday. At the ripe age of 6, most kids are doing some sort of countdown. I loved being surprised with gifts and people celebrating me.
One birthday I went swimming at Lake Erie with the family (& My sister's friend) and we ate watermelon. On another, I went to day camp per my request -(this stupid boy said he had a surprise for me and he was really just stupid). One birthday I went to the huge wooden park in Marion and we had pizza. When I turned eleven, Dad, Krista, and I were at the Atlantic coast up in Maine and we had lobster and warm brownies with ice-cream for dinner. We went swimming in the ocean; it was a blast.
I once took two of my best buds to Cedar Point then, shamefully, I ignored them because I was boy crazy. *Pause* as I shake my head in disappointment at former me...
I enjoy the memory of mom's bathtub cake disaster. I invited my friend Laura over and I told her how amazing my mom was at making cakes and that she was making me a bathtub cake... the cake makes me happy, but it embarrassed mom so bad! There was a Barbie in a tinfoil swimsuit covered in frosting. The cake had overflowed in the oven. I love mom!
I really loved the birthday wishes I got in Utah at Education week. My favorite speaker had thousands of people wish me a happy birthday. There was a billboard with birthday wishes in one of the main buildings. I went to a dance (where I danced with cute boys!), and when I got back to the dorm my family was waiting there to bestow me with gifts and love. I think I cried a couple times because I was so happy that day. That day I received favorite birthday gift ever, it was a book Krista got for me, she wrote me a letter on the inside about how cool I am, it came with a card with a frog prince on it and was signed by all my favorite Education Week speakers and random cute boys.
My favorite cake was one of Barb's. It had toys in it! I thought that was the coolest thing ever. A treasure cake! I'll have to do that some time for my kids (while they're young). Of course, every birthday we would have presents placed on our heads and Dad would say, "Heavy heavy hangover, my poor head, what are you going to do with it?" You would say something like "wear it" and it would turn out to be a book. I enjoyed the infusion of bad birthday singing that came when Zach joined the family.
As it turned out, Josh was born on his Grandpa Jon's birthday. They celebrated their 1st and 50th together. It was really fun, the whole family got together & they got matching gifts like a Car and a matchbox car...
Levi's birthday is the first I ever had to plan. He was only turning one, so I made a fabulously complicated coconut cake and pretzels and told people to get him balloons (he was pretty obsessed with balloons). I had his picture taken and put it with his 1st year achievements and dates he accomplished each. It was fun.
It is kind of hilarious to me that Krista's birthday is so close to Halloween because she is scared of spiders, even plastic ones. They have long adorned her cakes and Birthday decor. I guess that's what you get for deciding to put mom in labor while she's trick or treating.
I am almost 25! How did I get so old? I used to laugh at my parents for forgetting how old they are, but I can barely remember my age anymore. There is a bit of nervousness that accompanies my Birthdays... I pressure myself a lot to be spectacularly awesome and every birthday it's like you stand next to you of yesteryear and compare, then decide if you've accomplished enough. Sadly, the answer is usually no, it's not enough. But I don't let despair ruin my spotlight moment. Birthdays are about what I am, the good I do and the ways I sparkle, lets not lose focus people. You have to believe in your awesomeness to achieve it! With that I will wish you many happy years and birthday extravaganzas. Don't forget-Aug. 17th, the day, I say, should be nationally celebrated. ;) {Also, I share the day with my Great Grandpa Konstantas Paukstus- in case you weren't jealous yet, that might be the icing on the cake}.
-Sarah ("Princess of Awesomeness") Mize
PS: I love you my family! Thank you for making my life rock.
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