birthday celebrations

So November has been such a busy month, and it’s just been so hard to find time to blog. I find that there is so much happening and so much to do in November & December that anything that can be brushed off to the side does get pushed back into the New Year. This year is a little different, as my craziness doesn’t get stop until the end of January, so I feel like my holiday season is being extended.

November started off with Bianca’s birthday. Us girls went to Tango here in Calgary and spent the evening with our favourite girl B. We love Tango because it’s a really cool restaurant to go to with the girls. It’s all about ordering lots of appetizers and sharing with the group, which we love to do. It was a great night, and I think Bianca had a great time. 

The next weekend, Bianca and I had a joint birthday party at The Trop in Marda Loop. For the last several years, Bianca and I have joined our birthdays, because we’re only 10 days apart, and it’s easier for everyone, both financially and time wise to just come to one big birthday party instead of two. Besides, Bianca and I have a lot of the same friends, so it just makes sense to have a joint birthday party. It was a great night, and almost all of our friends came. Not sure if we’ll do a big birthday party again at The Trop, as the whole reservation ended up turning into a major pain in the butt, but it’s just an awesome place to eat, have a few drinks and dance to a few songs as they have live bands come play on weekends. I think next time I go there, I will just go with a smaller group.

Nick was very sick that weekend, so he only came for a couple hours, and then he left and went home around 9:30pm. I was so glad he came, but felt a little bad because he had been super sick the previous night. In all it was a fantastic night and it was great to have everyone together. 

The next day, we had dinner at my parents house and my mom made me one of my favourite meals, and for dessert we had cupcakes and ice cream. I love family quality time, and I really like going to Okotoks to see them.

On the Monday, us girls went out again for my birthday at 80^th & Ivy downtown Calgary. I heard so much about this restaurant, and wanted to try it out for myself. So it being my birthday, I got to pick, and I think we’re glad to discover another great restaurant. The service was a little slow, but since we weren’t in a rush and wanted to take our time, it really didn’t matter. I think that was the point of the restaurant, and I just won’t eat there if I’m on a schedule. The girl’s got me a necklace from Tiffany’s, and I just LOVE it! I need to get it adjusted, as I would like it to hang a little lower, but I will add that to my to do list in December when Nick and I go to Chinook Mall to do our Christmas shopping. I had a great night, and I truly love my friends, and feel extra lucky to have these girls in my life. 

 On Friday (the day after my official birthday), Nick made me supper (well he makes supper all the time) with my preferences in mind as a birthday dinner. He kind of decided that since I had been out to eat 3 times in the last week, that I really didn’t need another dinner out (which I guess I really couldn’t argue with). For my birthday he took one of my favourite wedding photos and had it blown up on canvas and we hung it above our TV in the living room. It looks so amazing, and now we have 2 wedding photos on display in our home. I totally thought we would have more by now, but I guess it’s a good thing that we don’t have wedding photos blasted everywhere! It was such a thoughtful gift, and love that we’re starting to add more decor in our home.

The next day I went to super Saturday in High River and made 2 cute crafts (one will be a Christmas gift for my parents), and love how they turned out. It’s says “Irvine Family est. 2012” and it is the Family Proclamation with a photo of us (okay so now there is 3 wedding photos in our home) sitting beside it. That evening Nick and I went to Grandma Elsie’s house to celebrate both hers and my birthday, as our birthdays are 2 days apart. Kris & Sandy bought us each our own little cake, and I always get the best birthday cards from them (Kris has a knack for picking out amazing birthday cards). Uncle Bob & Aunt Debbie were there, and because we were having such a great time, it turned into a very late night. 

 Sunday I drove up to Edmonton by myself (Nick had school) to see my Cousin Ryan’s homecoming. It was great to see him, and I am just so proud of everything he has accomplished. He gave a “great” talk and talked how his mission was “great” ;) They had a family dinner back at the Gilson house, and Ryan’s grandma sure knows how to cook a great meal. The dessert has to be one of my favourite things I have ever had. Then I just spent the evening talking to my Aunt and catching up. It was a great weekend, and I am really happy that I went. I spent the night with Bev as she lives in Edmonton, and we had a little “Bev & Kierra time”. The next morning we had breakfast at iHop, and then I headed home just after 1pm, as Bev had to go to work. We decided however, that in April, us girls are going up to Edmonton for Bev’s birthday, as it will be more special if we go up and see her instead of her having to come down to Calgary.

So the was kind of the end of my birthday week/celebrations. It seems like a lot, but I have great friends and family that all want to see me on my birthday, so my birthday gets extended over a week.