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I'm not really one to write about my own birthday...it feels kind of self-absorbed in a way, but I want to acknowledge the nice things my friends and family did for me.

My birthday fell on the first day of our trip in Louisiana, so before we left on our trip we had a little family party with my parents and Joy. Joy was also headed out for about a month, so it was a nice send off for her too. We had yummy veggie burritos...my favorite, and a delicious key lime pie for dessert. Joy and my parents gave me a tortilla press, tortilla warmers, earrings, and some green to buy a new backpack.

In Louisiana on the actual day, I slept in with my little men since we were still on Alaska time. When we got up Margaret made us all waffles. She and Alfred gave me a new purse and treated me to part of my birthday dinner. I'm not one for purses, but I have to admit that it came in handy during the rest of our stay and on the trip home.

Zach had a great time playing with my birthday card from Margaret and Alfred. It was one of those cards that makes sounds/music when you open it. He kept opening and closing it, so he could listen to it over, and over, and over, and over......

Darius was up early and brought me balloons, noise makers (which all were chewed up promptly by Zach), a new Rachel Ray cookbook, and probably one of the most delicious carrot cakes I've ever tasted. He also treated me to a bunch of new clothes, which actually fit...no more droopy pants!

Later for dinner Darius took me to the first (or one of the first) restaurants he ever worked for. The Warehouse No. 1 restaurant sits on the Ouachita River and has a great atmosphere and some excellent food. We enjoyed baked oysters, catfish bites, gumbo, corn & crab bisque, steak, shrimp and catfish fillets. It's been quite a long time since Darius had worked there, but there were still several people working there that he knew.

There was no room left for carrot cake that night, or the following night, so we didn't actually have birthday cake for a couple of days, but it sure was yummy when we finally got around to having some.

Thanks Darius, Margaret, Alfred, Ben & Zach for a lovely day! And thanks to the rest of my family and friends who called, sent cards/emails/gifts. I really appreciate all that everyone did! And an extra special thanks to my parents who gave me a birthday to begin with! Lots of love to everyone!