How do you Celebrate Birthdays?

There are so many amazing holidays to celebrate this week!  For one, Wednesdays is Talk Like a Pirate Day.  Saturday is FULL of them:  Hobbit Day, Elephant Appreciation Day and Dear Diary Day (just to name a few) all happen on Sept. 15th!

But, this week at our house it's all about

BIRTHDAYS! 

I love birthdays.  It's the one day my kids get to do whatever they want, no chores and choose their meals for the day.  It's the one day in life when you feel more special than any other day!  It's the day you were born, for goodness sake.  It's a big deal around here.

Well, Thursday will be my daughter A's 10th birthday. 

I think age ten is a bit tricky.  It's the time when childhood starts to fade away as you enter a new phase of growing up.  It's the pre-teen beginnings!  It's an age where you want your foot in both doors and aren't quite sure which way to behave on any given day. 

And so we celebrate age 10 a little bit extravagantly at our house. 

JW at Disneyland

Yes, when my kids turn ten they get to go to Disneyland!  :-)  And I happen to be the lucky one to take them. 

So, the year my oldest was turning ten we were "in between babies" and I told my husband we just had to go to Disneyland before a new little one arrived.  He protested.  Unlike me who can go to Disneyland every year of her life and be happy, my husband dreads the idea of taking our family to Disneyland.  So after my incessant persistance, he finally said, "Why don't you just take JW for his birthday?"

B at Disneyland

LIGHTBULB!! 

A tradition was spawned.

It seems extravagant, I know, but for us it is pretty economical.  We use my husband's frequent flyer miles, sometimes have free hotel too from his work travels, and only go for one day (as opposed to spending a couple there to be sure all the kids get on all the rides).  It is now one of my favorite memories to speed through Disneyland running from one ride to another with only one of my children.  :-)  I love it!

So, this year it's A's turn and we both are giddy with anticipation.  We won't go until December, when the park is relatively less crowded, so we have some waiting to do.  But still!  The excitement is in the air.  :-)

Happy Birthday, A!

Our Soon to Be Disney Attender