41!

Every year, Markus tells me he doesn't need to celebrate his birthday, and every year, I tell him that's just crazy talk. We keep it simple, but we definitely try to make it special! Given that Wednesday was Australia Day (a public holiday), Markus took Thursday and Friday off too, making it a five-day birthday weekend! Hooray!


The girls helped make this birthday banner before breakfast (nice alliteration!). Of course, we enjoyed Geburtstagsbrezel complete with birthday song and candle for breakfast. Start the day right is what we say!

Thanks to a cyclone somewhere off the Western Australian coast, by 8am the thermometer looked like this in the shade.


Yow. We opted for a day inside, and we headed to the Maritime Museum in Fremantle. After a quick browse around (we were just there on Monday), we enjoyed a snack in the cafe and then participated in some school holidays craft time. The girls really enjoyed it, and it kept us busy for the entire morning. Then, it was time to head home and enjoy a rare treat: lunch out! We walked over to Maretti's (Italian bistro), just close to our house. The lunch was fantastic, leaving us with that lazy, relaxed and happy feeling that a great meal can bestow. At home again, the girls danced to the ballet recital DVD as Mama knit and Papa snoozed on the couch. (I'm so out of the habit of blogging that I didn't think to take any photos; sorry)

Once the DVD was over, Markus decided to have craft time with the girls. Grandmary sent him a really cool ship-in-a-bottle kit that he and Ellie couldn't wait to try, so they worked on that while Stephanie glued tissue paper to cardstock in artful ways. By the time they were done, Ellie was trashed and very whiny (unfortunately rather common these days). During the course of a particularly fussy spree, she accidentally dropped the newly completed ship-in-a-bottle on the tile floor, where it promptly shattered into thousands of tiny pieces. Much wailing and screaming and carrying on followed (all Ellie, in case you were curious). Father of the Year soothed her expertly while an exasperated Mama crawled around on hands and knees with a broom.


When the wailing finally ceased, Papa took all the kids to the beach, where they are playing away in the surf.


Happy Birthday, Papa! We love you!