We had to change up our birthday celebrations a bit. Years ago, we decided we were done with traditional friend birthday parties and would rather spend the money on a family activity. It has been a good tradition. Unfortunately it has gotten too expensive, and we are trying so hard to make ends meet these days that we knew we needed to scale down.
We decided we would do one present, they still get to choose the meals we have at home that day, and we will still do a family activity, but it can't cost money.
Brandon gave me a couple of ideas for his birthday present. I wasn't too keen on either of them, to be honest. He has been practicing piano songs for years, hoping to learn enough hymns that I would consider letting him learn the cello. He is pretty close, and I thought I would way rather spend the money on that and have it be a big surprise than purchase one of the other things he wanted. (A cell phone or a leather jacket) But I had seen the price tag on the cellos at the music store, and knew it was not going to be in budget. I thought maybe I would rent one for awhile, but picking up a new monthly bill was not an exciting prospect either. I started looking online and found a used cello being sold by a music teacher at a much more reasonable price. Dallin and I talked it over and decided it was a good idea, and we could use some tax return money to cover what would be over our birthday budget. My parents also agreed to go in on it as their gift to him. So I drove out and bought him a cello, and it was painful keeping that surprise for the next several days. I hid it at our neighbors so he would not suspect at all.
My parents came into town that weekend to meet my sister for some stuff at BYU. We decided to make Erin's rugby game our family activity for Brandon's birthday celebration. Knowing we'd be gone most of the day, we had presents with our breakfast of Bagels and mangos and kiwis. I had him open some cello song books for his gift. Then the kids brought the cello down, and he was so surprised and excited! It was really fun. He has been working hard to get his muscles strong enough for a good bow hold and is starting to make some sounds now. We had a wonderful day with my parents and two of my sisters and their families. We watched the Rugby game, got some pizza, and saw the premiere of a movie that my nephew is in. It was a really great day. We were all so tired when we got home that we decided to postpone the abelskiver dinner he wanted for the next day, which was actually his birthday. After church I got to work making abelskivers for the first time in my life. They are round, hollow pancake balls that you can fill with fruit and other things. We had a good variety of fruit and some delicious fresh cream from raw milk to top them with.
I guess the cello sort of gave me a theme for our other 2 birthdays. I wasn't sure what to give Sullivan for his birthday. He's been waiting for his birthday to "come up" for months, telling everyone that he is 3 already. Not till March 15th, buddy! I talked to him about presents and he told me he already got a cape and a sword and a belt (Christmas). Pretty sweet that he didn't feel the need for anything else. We have so many toys, and I didn't want to get him something just to get him something. Then I remembered how much he has been interested in Simon's violin lessons, sitting with my through them and having me use his arm for my violin. He knows all of the rhythms to the songs Simon has practiced, and will often take a couple of spoons or other toys and put them up to his chin to make a violin. I found a cute, tiny, cheap violin on the internet. I know it is not a quality instrument, but it is so cute! I had to pound the pegs pretty good with a hammer to keep the strings tuned at all, but it is perfect for him! It has a case and rosin just like Simon's and he knows just what to do. When he opened it, he said, "A little fiolin, just for me!" I need to get him a shoulder rest so he can hold it right, and then I think I can go along with the Suzuki method that Simon has learned this year. It is so cute when he gets it out to practice with Simon. When I asked about his cake, he said he wanted a green cake with strawberries on it. Sweet. I love simple. I dyed the batter green and made a big sheet cake. When Nathan got it out of the oven, he said it looked like a monster. That added to Sulley's imagination, so he said he wanted a monster cake. I used the strawberries and some marshmallows to make a monster face on it, and it turned out really cute! He was really happy with his birthday. In the morning we went to the store and he got to buy a few little toys with his ten dollars from Grandma and Grandpa M. On the way there, he said, "Mom, is my birthday up?" Yes! It finally came up! He got some army guys, a green car, and a green motorcycle. He suddenly loves the color green! I got him some balloons, too, which he carried proudly into the house. That evening our ward did a "Pie Party" since it was "Pi Day" 3-14-15. So we went to the church and tried a few kinds of pie and had a fun time with that.
Lately Dallin has been playing around with the harmonicas that we have, and he's been able to pick out a few tunes. He and Simon have tried playing together when it is their night to do piano for their after dinner job. The problem is that all of Simon's songs are written in A and the harmonica is in C. I taught Simon a couple of songs in C, but I thought it would be nice if Dallin could just play along with the songs Simon is already working on. We have had a few family jam sessions playing twinkle in C with Nathan on the ukulele, me on the piano, Ruby on the glockenspiel, Dallin on the harmonica, and Simon on the harmonica. It has given us a glimpse that the dream of our family playing music together that we have had since our kids were very little might still be a reality. It has been really fun! So I found a set of harmonicas in the most common keys for Dallin. So now he can play with Simon in A! On Dallin's birthday, we just had a fun day at home with the family. We got out in the sunshine and worked in the garden and cleaned it up so we can start planting. It was wonderful! We have had such beautiful weather lately! In the afternoon, we went to the Gem and Rock show and had a fun time. He loved his present, and we enjoyed the traditional taco dinner that night. This was a big birthday for Dallin! 40! He handled it with dignity and grace, as usual :).
It has been fun to have such a musical month. We'll have to see what the rest of the birthdays this year hold in store for us!
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Just reading about your family makes me happy. You are such a wonderful example to me. Thanks for sharing!
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