May 29

Happy Birthday! I'm now legal. HAHA!! I turned 21 on May 27th and I celebrated with wine, but I'm getting ahead of myself.
Last thing I talked about was my family coming for a visit; well they got here safely on Monday. My aunt Susan, 3 year old cousin Frankie, and my grandma. It was Frankie's first time on a plane and he had mixed emotions about it. I tried to remember my first time on a plane but it was so long ago. They got in a little late on Monday but we did hang out for a little bit and then they went on to the hotel. Also, Becca made a casserole and it was delicious. I love hanging out with family and watching Frankie have fun.
Tuesday rolled around and we went to Chuck E. Cheese (CEC) for lunch. I felt a litte bad because my mom had to work (at a job that she hates) and Becca had to go to school (athough her class had a graduation party). One of Susan's friends, Monica, lives here in Colorado Springs) so we went to CEC with her and her son. I couldn't believe it! Her son, Drew, has grown so much. The last time I saw him he was 10 or 11 and now he's almost 19. Finally, Becca's party was dond and we took her to get her hair cut in layers. It looks really good. Then we picked up my mom and went out for Italian. We love Italian food and ate a lot of it this week.
The big day (Wednesday) arrived, Becca's eighth grade promotion! I'm so proud of her and everything that she's accomplished. I was also very happy that she wore a dress because she's always calling herself a tomboy. The thing I thought was most funny was that her dress fit when she tried it on in the store and then everyday between that and her promotion it didn't zipper properly. We both prayed that it would fit and it did! She looked beautiful! Susan did her make-up and hair and I made sure to take pictures. Also, my mom had a half day at work and she was so happy for that. After Becca's promotion we went to buffalo wild wings because she wanted to go there and it's always delicious! Also, Susan and Frankie spent the night.
We (as in Susan, Frankie, grandma, and I) were suppose to hang out with Monica and Drew but that didn't happen. Instead the four of us went to Old Colorado City and walked around down there. We had lunch at the Mason Jar which is a lovely family friendly restaurant. My mom had to work the whole day but she got Friday off. Becca didn't have to go to school but she wanted to so that she could say good bye. That night we all went out to It'z,a pizza place that is kind of like Amazing Jakes (or CEC for adults and kids). It's a huge place and they even had rides. After that we all stayed the night at the hotel.
The next day was my big day, it was my birthday. Ugh! My family woke me up at seven in the morning! The sad part is that none of them remembered it was my birthday for about two hours. I was a little disappointed but I lied to myself and justified their actions. They finally remembered (I reminded Becca before that but I told her not to say anything) and I gave them all crap about forgetting. We went out for breakfast and then had to do a little shopping. We went to Garden of the Gods (GOG) and had a picnic and looked at the beautiful rock formations. I love GOG and how lovely it is. It's at the base of the of the Pikes Peak mountain and one of the most beautiful places I know. That night I made dinner for everyone. Yes, I made it because I didn't trust my family with it and I wanted to make dinner. I made my favorite Italian dish, chicken fettucini alfredo. I enjoyed making it but my family (all but my mom) was late and the food sat out longer than it should have. I was so stressed by the time that showed up that I downed my first glass of wine. The evening was great and I drank six glasses of wine (three strawberry and three blackberry) and I like the blackberry wine but the strawberry is good too. However, the champagne did not taste good and my older sister, Maygen, told me to add orange juice which made it taste much better. That was how my birthday went.
Susan, Frankie, and grandma had to leave early on Saturday so we said good bye on Friday. Sadly, we still had to get up early because Becca has swim lessons. Thankfully, I didn't have a hang over or else I would have hated everyone. That afternoon we went shopping, a used movie store was having a sale. I got three movies (Dragonheart 1 and 2 and Epic movie) and a video game (God of War) all for under 20 dollars. The best part of the day was that night, we went to a country dance class. It was awesome! My mom and Becca went a few times before so they knew what to do but I kept making mistakes. My mom paired me with this guy named Brian (who was dressed in all black and looked like he didn't want to be there). He was very patient with me and helped me when I got confused. He was such a gentleman (for a high schooler). He told me that his dad drags him there every week and so he was bored with doing the same steps every time but I got him to smile a few times. It was so much fun!
My week was packed full of things and all of it was so great. There were times when I was irritated but there were also times when I couldn't stop smiling. I love my family and spending time with them even though they annoying me some times, just like any normal family.