Milestones

 We had some birthdays at our house.  I usually refer to it as the never-ending birthday and it was again, just in reverse order.

This year I had the No 50 Birthday celebration.  Months ago we bought tickets to the Elton John Farwell tour.  I wanted to go to see him back in 2019 when his farewell tour started.  I missed his stop in Phoenix so I wanted to travel to see him in another city.  He is legendary and I know once he is gone, he's gone.  Then we had a pandemic and his tour was canceled.  Luckily for me, he started his tour all over again.  He was going to be in Phoenix from 11/11-11/12.  I chose the 11th because the 12th is Trey's birthday in case he wanted to celebrate his way.  That was months ago, maybe in April, I bought those tickets. I thought that would be a good way to celebrate my 50th birthday.

Since Curtis had his 50th earlier this year, along with all the people I grew up with, I started to see a trend in how this goes down.  If you don't have something spectacular planned for your milestone birthday someone else will likely decide for you that you need to celebrate in a grand way.  I started getting the question "what are you doing for your 50th? You have to do something for your 50th"  Are you taking a trip for your 50th?"  I started to understand the pressure Curtis felt and why he told people "don't talk to be about it until June"  very kind people decided Curtis didn't do enough for his 50th so they planned a surprise party.

 I realized if I didn't take control of this situation someone else would. When I mentioned Elton John, people didn't think that was good enough.  "You would have gone to that anyway, it just happens to be your birthday weekend " they would tell me. So I decided to throw myself a party and have total control of the situation.

I had my good friends fly in, Stephanie Carter and Amy Wareham (cousin).  I invited others but they had extenuating circumstances so they couldn't come (broken foot, moving, and working retail the month before Christmas)  I rented a nearby AirBNB in downtown Chandler ( I didn't want to have to clean my house twice) then I had a party with my good friends.  The theme was No 50 like Chanel perfume No5.  I probably spent way too much time preparing for it but I think I realized doing parties is something I really enjoy doing.  I love planning the invitation, the decorations, the party favors, and all the small details that go into a theme.  The party was on Thursday, November 10th It was a great night, the venue was really fun, my friends loved it and the food was yummy.

The next day was finally Elton John, Amy and Stephanie flew home.  It was great to spend a few days with them.  This was the first time they had actually met after both of them hearing me talk about the other for years.

Elton John was great however there were way too many people there.  We thought we left early, but getting to Chase field there was a ton of traffic.  We finally found a side street to park on (even though we had a parking pass) We would have never made it on time if we waited for the parking garage.  Then we walked to the stadium and there were a ton of people waiting to get in.  We have been to Diamondback games at this venue more than several times and it never took more than 20 minutes to park, walk in and get to your seat.  Not that night.  I have never seen so many people at Chase Field.  Every seat was filled all the way up to the nose bleeds, then they added more people and packed them in on the field/floor.  I don't think the venue was ready for this crowd.  We were still waiting to get in when we heard the concert start.  It was a bit of a fiasco but we finally made it to our seats.  I'm glad we got to see such a legend. Elton John was very gracious to the crowd and his fans for all his success.  I'm glad I got to see him in his garish outfits, although I think he has toned it down since the 1970s.  I realized I wasn't a true Elton John fan or I would have known to wear sequins and EJ glasses. Many people in the crowd were, and he thanked them for dressing up.  He mentioned he was 75 years old, he gimped around on stage a bit and wasn't as energetic as his younger days, but he still gave a great performance.

Curtis and I both decided we are too old for these big crowds, we're going to stick to smaller venues in Las Vegas if we want to see a show.

Then it was Trey's #14 Birthday.  Unfortunately, the headaches continue.  The good news on his actual birthday, he felt decent, not terrible.

I made him waffles for breakfast, and he opened up a few gifts:  A new computer monitor at his request, a few new T-shirts, and new Sunday Shoes.

The most exciting thing Trey did for his birthday was go on a walk with his brothers, and we picked up Culvers with an order of Cheese Curds.  The walk was a big improvement for him.  The next day he felt awful.  I'm glad he at least felt decent on his actual birthday.

A nice big smile for this Birthday boy.

This week's funny.  Curtis and I went to an RV show at the parking lot of the Cardinal stadium.  Maybe someday we will buy one.  There was also some type of Chevy Truck show going on nearby.  I have never seen so many Chevy trucks old ones, new ones, and some I have not seen since my childhood.  We had to drive past the Chevy Trucks to get in and out of the RV show.  We saw this souped-up wheelchair/recliner passing by.  I wish I had a better picture but we were stopped in traffic.  Curtis wanted me to be discreet as I took the pic, clearly, the guy noticed and approved of me taking his pic.  I think he loves the attention as I noticed other people were giving him thumbs up etc as ge strolled by.

I got this shirt when I went to Oregon.  I thought it was fitting for Trey since he actually requests Tillamook cheese because it melts better, and cheese Curds have been his #1 food request since this headache issue started. He is yet to wear it, since he hasn't really gotten out of bed.

Uneventful Halloween

Unfortunately, Trey's headaches are back. At first, we thought it was flu because most of the family had it. Then the flu left, but the headaches continued. We have emailed his Doctor and he reduced his meds a bit. Hopefully, he will return to school soon.  So much for feeling good.  School started back up after Fall break (which Trey felt great during school break)  Trey went back to school for two days and he hasn't been back since.  I'm getting messages from his teachers, they are concerned, which is nice.  We're sick of this.

Curtis reluctantly went to Utah this week for some EXP meetings.  They went well, he is just a little irritated with EXP right now.  Then he knowingly put himself through more punishment of going to a BYU game while he was up there.  They are on a bad losing streak, and it continued.  I saw this posted somewhere "Men pick their favorite sports team when they're like 11 and let it make them upset for the rest of their life."  Curtis confirmed it was true.

He did go up to Ogden and spend some time with his Dad while he was there.

Curtis and Brent Johnson    

Curtis flew home Saturday evening, and for the first time in probably 20 years we did not go to Trunk or Treat.  Trey didn't want to dress up and collect candy, because he is trying to be healthier due to his headache issues. I had to pick up Curtis in the middle of it, and I think everybody was ok missing it this year.

Halloween was pretty uneventful now that kids are getting older.  Dax and Trey sat on the porch and passed out candy.  I made Halloween food.

I made skullzones, like calzones but skulls stuffed with pizza ingredients,  one night, then skull cornbread and chili Halloween night.

Dark Halloween Grazing platter.

Trey had an eye appointment with the pediatric ophthalmologist to make sure his headaches were not causing problems with his optic nerve.  All was well there.