Miriam's Pre-Birthday Party

"We should do something fun for Miriam's birthday!" I suggested to Andrew when he got home from school. "Let's go to Trafalga—we just got Rachel's new card. It's free!"

Much to my surprise, Andrew didn't moan and groan about how much homework he had to do and instead said, "Yeah! Let's do it!"

I guess he was ready for a fun break.

Miriam's birthday isn't until tomorrow, technically, but Tuesdays are always hard days for Andrew so today was a much better day to go off and have fun. We did our FHE lesson in the car on the way over—Rachel has to give a talk in sacrament meeting for the primary presentation in two weeks so we had her practice that. 

We didn't tell the girls where we were going so they were really excited when we arrived at Trafalga. We hadn't been since March, I think, and they had wanted to ride the merry-go-round so badly, but it wasn't running yet (they turn on the "outside toys" in April; I'm not sure when they turn them off). Miriam had guessed we were going hiking and Rachel had guessed we were going to a playground. They were both pleasantly surprised.

They hopped on the merry-go-round first thing. 

Miriam was a little bit nervous about her first ride and let Andrew support her back while she held onto the pole. I was glad about that because I was a little nervous about letting her ride by herself as well!

We tried mini-golfing next and even though we only made it through two holes, I think the girls had fun.

Miriam got a hole in one on the second hole. So did I. Daddy sank his in the water hazard...behind us. Rachel gave up after five or six tries. But here's Miriam smiling proudly by her hole-in-one.

It was kind of weird because you had to hit your ball up a hill and then it would fall down into a number of holes at the top. If you got a hole in one it went into this little box, but if you didn't then your ball shot out onto the green. I guess we'll never know what the rest of the course looks like because our girls weren't interested in doing any more golfing after this. There were more rides to ride!

They wanted to try the airplane ride next. Rachel went alone the first time because they said I wasn't allowed to ride and I wasn't confident enough to send Miriam on the plane by herself.

I had assumed that I could ride on the ride with Miriam because the only rules posted were that you had to be at least 36 inches tall, that you couldn't ride if you were pregnant, and that the weight in each plane was not to exceed 350 lbs. Plus, I had gone on a similar ride with my girls at Bear World. 

"Do I have to sit in the back," I asked plopping Miriam in a plane, "Or can I sit in the front beside her?"

"You actually can't ride," the attendant said. "There's a 60 inch limit."

I really think the attendant was mistaken, but I listened to her anyway, and let my baby ride the plane by herself (with her big sister). I mean, really—that only gives people a 24 inch window to ride the plane! There was a sign nearby marked with 60 inches at the top, but that was the height requirement to drive the go-karts. Whatever...Miriam did fine riding by herself.

I love how brave Miriam is in the top picture, before the ride started, and how shocked she looks below, when the plane took off:

It didn't take long for her initial shock to wear off, though, and she ended up having a great time!

When it was time to get out, I unhooked the chain and tried to take Miriam out, but she held onto the chain and refused to let me pick her up. "Again! Again! Me flying again!" she squealed. So we let them ride again.

Then Rachel wanted to try the go-karts, so Andrew and Rachel got in line. Miriam was too short to ride the go-karts, though, and started pouting about not being able to ride.

No one should ever have to look that sad on their birthday! The line for the go-karts was pretty long so we abandoned Daddy and Rachel and rode the merry-go-round. Again, and again, and again. It's a good thing we have the Pass of All Passes (thanks, Grandma!) because the carousel is $4 a pop if you pay for tickets at the desk. Yikes!

Miriam was brave enough that she didn't even want me to touch her or stand next to her.

She liked watching the roof get closer and closer. "Up so high!" she'd say.

I can't get enough of her one-year-old cuteness—and today was my last day to take it all in because tomorrow she'll be full of two-year-old cuteness.

We also had time to ride the airplanes once, but only once because Rachel and Daddy were now at the front of the line and Rachel had wanted me and Miriam to watch them. This time Miriam picked a blue plane and got to sit in the front seat all by herself.

Just as Meme's ride ended, Rachel and Daddy were getting into their go-kart.

They got to zip around the track ten times! I'm not sure who liked it the most—Andrew certainly looks like he's having more fun driving but Rachel talked about it way more when it was over. 

On the drive home, Rachel asked why we didn't do this for her birthday. Truthfully, I don't know. I know she went to a pool party on the morning of her birthday and technically we should have had time to go play on her birthday because her birthday is in the summer. I suppose I'll take the same advice I gave to her and not worry about it.

"Didn't you have fun?" I asked. She nodded. "Then don't worry about it—it was a fun time for everyone so it doesn't matter whose birthday it was for! It was like a present for the whole family!"

She seemed satisfied with that answer, so I should be, too. Sometimes I worry about being "fair," though (I probably shouldn't be because that's an impossible goal to achieve). Looking back, I guess I was going through a hard time right around her birthday and didn't have the energy to demand that we do anything super fun as a family. But I love Rachel just as much as Miriam.

I love how big they're getting as much as I hate how they're not my babies anymore.

This was a fun, fun outing. It really was like a present for the whole family.