The Birthday--Part Two...

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The kids and I threw a sweet party for Daddy tonight. We surprised him with a trip to a restaurant featured on the Food Network television show: "Diners, Drive-In's and Dives". Our Daddy LOVES eating at Diners, truck stops and any out of the way place you can imagine. He likes it when waitresses call him "Darlin'" and short order cooks man the grill. He really likes the "Diners, Drive-In's and Dives" show but doesn't watch it very often so he was very surprised. I actually heard about the restaurant from another friend's blog. Anyway, we whisked Daddy away from work at exactly 5:00 and took a scenic drive down Rt. 1 to the town of Pescadero where Duarte's Tavern is located. Duarte's is not exactly a hole in the wall but it is a nice little family restaurant with a lot of charm.

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Daddy ordered the seafood cioppino--at 27 bucks a plate it is more expensive than any of the steaks and twice as much as any of the other seafood meals. I cannot tell you if it was worth the price but this is the meal the host of the show raved about. I can tell you it was some serious seafood--you have to be serious if you are going to give your adult patrons blue checked bibs to wear while they eat--that's serious seafood! I stuck with a BLT and onion rings and the kids (another shocker here) all ordered plain pasta. After we ate ourselves silly we packed up and headed out to the beach to open Daddy's presents.

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This was my favorite part of the birthday celebration. The wind was pretty fierce at the top of the rocks and the DI (aka Good Will or Salvation Army) bag of clothes sitting in the trunk of the van totally saved our birthday celebration bacon. We hauled out a sweat shirt fit for a 6 month old for Wyatt, two of Lorien's old shirts for the girls and a shrunken sweater for me. With some warmer clothes on we all climbed down the rocks to the tidal pools below. Wyatt leading the charge on the hunt for sea creatures. Every time he spotted one he would bellow out in this husky voice: "I see a cwab! I see a cwab! Daddy, guys, everybody--come here quick!!!" He was so excited. Clare was totally freaked out by the crabs in the pools so we set her on the flattest rock we could find--far away from any tidal pools. Ten minutes later we hear these chilling shrieks coming from Clare: "Wook!!!! Ahhhhhhh!!! Wook, a cwab, a cwab!!! And eees cwawing up the wall! Ahhhhhh!" Sure enough there was one solitary crab, on a rock next to our two year old, scuttling up the side of said rock. Poor crab, he was probably trying to escape the molecular splitting screams radiating from the freakishly pale beast sitting next to him. Having taken our fill of "cwab" sightings we headed over to the shoreline so Lorien could dip her toes in the waves and Wyatt could examine rock after rock. We got to watch the sun melt into the ocean and snap a family photo or two before heading back to the car.

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It was a great evening. Clare summed it up best saying: "Tanks fow da beach, Daddy."

The last few weeks have been a little stressful at our house. Will has been working hard but there still seem to be more loose ends at work. We've both resorted to sleepless nights and anxious days. Today, while spreading peanut butter on saltines for lunch I broke out in tears. Not only have we been struggling with Will's work but my youngest brother, Oliver, had surgery to remove a benign tumor from his brain today. Stress seems to be pushing in on all sides lately. As I was sitting on the beach tonight (with one painful rock poking my delicate fanny) I was completely aware of all of my beautiful blessings. It didn't take much to look around at the crashing waves and pink sky to be thankful for the earthly beauty all around. But more than lovely surroundings I just had to look into the faces of my sweet children--to see the twinkle in their eyes and grins on their lips--to hear their delight of discovery and feel their arms around me for a hug--What a lucky (blessed, really) girl I am. What a family, what a world. I thank God for it all and am very aware of how very little I have to actually complain about. Just look at these people--are they fantastic or what?

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