Jen's Fourth 25th Birthday

For those of you who know me well, it would not surprise you to know that I am not a fan of birthdays. Let me rephrase that. I love birthdays, especially birthday parties for little kids. I just don't like my birthday. Once I reached 25, birthdays stopped being enjoyable and became a day of resignation to the fact that I am now a year older and getting that much closer to leaving my twenties. So, with that in mind, I stopped having birthdays after my 25th one. This may prove to be a bit awkward explaining this to my children once they become teenagers and eventually turn 25 themselves, but we will cross that bridge when we come to it.

One of the first places Nate took me to when we were dating in St. George was a little Hibachi grill called Samuri 21. The night started off with dinner and then somehow evolved into a night at a comedy club in Mesquite followed by our big Austrailian friend Ben playing black jack for the first time and walking away with a few hundred dollars. Because it was such an fun night, I always associate Hibachi grills with having a good time.

I thought if we went to a Hibachi grill we would get some good food and Bryn would be entertained by all the knife flinging and fire. I couldn't have been more wrong. Our previously fearless little girl has turned into a timid mouse. Once the first flame shot up on the grill, she was beyond done. She had her face buried in my hair while our chef cooked our food and kept saying, "I'm done, Mom. Go home now. No like the fire. I'm done, Mom." Once the chef was done, and with the promise of birthday cake, she agreed to sit back in her chair. All the hysterics must have used up all her energy reserves as she could not shovel in her noodles fast enough. Then again maybe she was just trying to leave the restaurant faster.

Here is my decadent birthday cake that Nate ordered for me from Gormandise. He made sure that the bakery included a big chocolate name tag for me just in case old age settled in and I forgot my own name. I will readily admit that my memory is not what it used to be and that somedays I feel like I am losing my mind. However, I blame that more on having children than on my age.

I even had a couple of surprise visitors show up. My mom and Aunt Patti were able to stop by for a couple of hours. They were driving through Salt Lake on their way to Texas. It was fun to see them even if it was only for a short time. Overall it was a great birthday. Nate and the kids spoiled me rotten, and I got lots of wonderful and generous gifts from my family. And while I am not a fan of my birthday, I will be forever grateful for another year. As my mom always says, "It sure beats the alternative." Here's to at least another 60 of those "25th birthdays."