18th Birthday

Today I became the mother of five adults.  Jessi passed from being our responsibility to being responsible for herself because she is now legally an adult.  Not that anything will change in our household, but it is incredible to think about this rite of passage.  

We tried the best we could to celebrate her birthday in our traditional way.  

We always go out to dinner as a family to a restaurant of their choice.  We went the night before her birthday because that is when the most members could attend.  Even at that it was just Jeff and I, Kevin, and Spjut, Jessi's boyfriend, and Jessi.  She was a little disappointed with the turnout but what do you do when our family is spread all over the country?  Of course we drove up Weber Canyon to eat at Taggart Grill-- Jessi's number one restaurant.  

This morning bright and early we were up opening presents before Jeff and Kevin left for work.  Jessi had showered quick before because it always makes for a tight morning to open presents that early.  She is showing off her CTR ring that she received.

We have always made a poster to greet our kids as they came upstairs on their Birthday.  Unfortunately when we remodeled we lost the large bulletin board we used to use so we have had to resort to writing on the window.  We are obviously running out of creativity as our last one nears the end of birthday messages.

The reason the kids have always like opening their presents in the morning before school was so they could wear that all important Birthday Outfit on the their big day.

 This year instead of feeding all of Jessi's friends lunch on her birthday I decided to just take her to lunch and then miss her last class so we could do some shopping.  Jeff joined us in Salt Lake.  The waiter brought her a Birthday Sundae with a candle.  (Might I mention it is her only candle this year.  Thank heavens for restaurants)

Not many of our children like birthday cake so they get their choice of a birthday dessert instead.  Jessi kept up the tradition of chocolate eclairs for her birthday.  Today these were so fresh I had to wait at the store while they frosted them.

Jess had requested helium balloons this year for her celebration.  I was told she had only ever had the blow up kind and she would appreciate helium ones this year.  I hurried to the store before she came home for lunch and bought a large bouquet of pink and purple balloons complete with a large mylar "Happy 18th Birthday" balloon.  I decided to tie them on the mailbox so she would see I did not forget her request as soon as she drove in for lunch.  I quickly tied them to the mailbox, walked into the house, and maybe five minutes later walked to the front window to see if Jessi was coming yet.  To my utter amazement I noticed as I looked out the window that there were absolutely NO balloons tied to the mailbox.  I ran outside to see what had occurred and I could catch a teeny tiny glimpse of them as they floated off in the blue yonder.  Luckily Jessi pulled in right then so I could show her the pinpoint sign of them as they floated to greater heights.  Jeff informed me that we were going to have to have knot tying lessons.  Obviously I need them.  Oh well I did the best I could do.