Julia's 13th Birthday

It's happened again.  Just like that.  One of my children has become a teenager!  All things considered, it really couldn't have happened to a better kid.  Julia is amazing, and it's been a pleasure to celebrate her special day (even if said celebrations have been a bit fragmented). 

There is nothing pleasurable, however, about getting really sad news on your birthday.  Julia loved her Grandpa Steve.  She had been speaking of him often during the few days since hearing of his sudden illness, and had tenderly mentioned him in our family prayer just a few hours before we received the news that he had passed away.  As I tossed and turned in those early-morning hours, I dreaded greeting Julia on her special day with such heartbreaking news, but it was unavoidable.  I wished her a "Happy Birthday" but she could see the strain on my face.  I softly told her that I'd had a call from Grandma in the middle of the night.  She knew right away what that meant, said "Oh no!" and hugged me tight.

After making the decision to leave for Utah that very afternoon, I was more than happy to allow Julia to stay home from school.  She helped me with laundry and played with Luke and Landon while I frantically tried to prepare to leave.  I apologized to her many times about the unfortunate timing of everything, but she sincerely comforted me and gave me so many hugs, reassuring me that she was just fine.  I was proud of her and touched that she was being so thoughtful and mature under the circumstances. 

Steve came home from work a little early so we could all be together with Julia before I left for the airport.  I'm so glad that we had decorated a little bit and had wrapped Julia's gifts the night before!  Besides the sign and balloons, Rachel had snuck into Julia's bedroom and had taped these cute messages on the wall for Julia to see first thing on her birthday:

What a thoughtful thing to do!  Julia loved these notes (and others) from Rachel.

The first gift that Julia opened from us was sort of silly, but also sentimental…the two-disc DVD set of "Balto" movies that she and Rachel absolutely loved as little girls.  

Thirteen is the age in our family when one receives a cell phone (of the very basic variety).  Since we didn't want to spend money on a New Zealand cell phone that would need to be replaced in a few months, we bought Julia a calculator with a coupon (good for a Utah cell phone) attached to the back.  Why on earth would we present the coupon on a calculator, you may ask?  When Rachel turned 13, she opened her new cell phone excitedly, and my dear sweet Mom, from across the room, brightly exclaimed, "Awww… a CALCULATOR!"  We laughed our heads off at that, and it's become a fun family joke.

Julia's main gift was a ukelele.  We had fun shopping for it here in Palmy, and have enjoyed listening to her strumming and singing.  This next series of photos makes me happy…the twins were so excited to be right there in the action while Julia opened her gifts.

Later that evening, Steve took Julia on a date.

They had a lovely dinner at Chada Thai.  I just have to say that having older kids who enjoy different types of food is really awesome. 

Back at home, everyone sang Happy Birthday to Julia and she opened a few more gifts (ear buds and books).  I had previously bought everything to make Julia's birthday cake, but ran out of time that day, so Steve said he would take care of it.  He later decided to use a box cake mix instead, and I asked him how it turned out.  "Fine," he replied, "although shortly after frosting the cake, I opened the microwave and discovered the melted butter that was supposed to go into the cake batter."  Ha ha.  Oh well, the cake still looks yummy in the picture!

A few nights ago, I took Julia out on a date as well, and we had a great time.  She chose to eat at the Bean Cafe.  It makes me laugh that Julia's hand is highlighting the word "Asian."  I'm probably going to embarrass her by saying this, but Julia is a bit obsessed with all things Asian.  She has said many times that she wants to go on a mission to an Asian country, marry an Asian, and have lots of Asian babies (or at least adopt kids from Asia).  It's cute.

We walked into the cafe, and low and behold, there was a cute Asian family waiting in line…with TWIN babies!  Julia could hardly contain her delight.  That might have been her favorite "birthday" moment of all.

Here are some collage highlights from the dinner.  We had lots of fun and the food was great.

That yummy piece of cake we shared was NOT missing any butter.  :)

If there's anything Julia loves more than Asians, it's holiday decorating.  Last week, she was perusing Trade Me (our local buy/sell website), and found an artificial Christmas tree for sale, begging us to buy it.  Steve and I hadn't even really talked about Christmas decorations yet, but we agreed that even a small tree was a must, so we bought the tree that Julia found.  After our dinner, we went shopping for tree decorations.  

Living in the southern hemisphere is so interesting…I have to say that it's a little strange to see the Christmas displays next to the swimsuits and beach balls and kiddy pools.

Julia is a blast to shop with.  She enjoys trying on lots of things, and is always good for a goofy face or striking a pose.

It is so much fun to be a parent to a smart and darling and funny young lady like Julia.  Teenage-hood looks good on you, sweetie!