I love celebrating birthdays! Of course, it's fun to celebrate my own, but I actually enjoy the festivities of others' birthdays better. I like the before-hand preparations that I get to be "in on". Yesterday's celebration for Grandmom and Granddaddy was no exception. The before-hand preparations of the watermelon whale we made Saturday turned into a joyful surprise for me! I saw it completed just before the meal was served on Grandmom's counter top. Mom said she's created the whale in previous years, but we figured it must have been before I joined the family or else I was too small to remember it. At any rate, the whale we made for yesterday's celebration was so fun to get ready! I thought it should go down in culinary history as "coolest edible birthday-themed dish".
Grandmom's gift from my family was also fun to put together. I helped Mom research Grandmom's present, which was a 3.5 digital photo frame. Basically, Grandmom can insert a memory card into the side of the frame, which is only the size of a small wallet. The front of the frame will then display the photographs that are on the memory card in a slide show format. Mom called it a "digital brag book," similar to the bulkier photo books grandmothers or mothers carry in their purses. The reason that the digital photo frame is so nice is that the pictures can be easily changed whenever a new occasion comes along. On my Grandmom's new digital photo frame, I put a slide show of pictures from my cousin Heather's wedding. However before we left for home we added pictures of the birthday party that had just taken place. My grandmother can now show her friends how her eightieth birthday was celebrated with a viewable, digital slide show.
Now that you know what we got my Grandmom, I can share why it was so fun to help research her gift. I looked online for the digital frame Dad and Mom wanted to purchase. Then, I called local stores to check availability. While explaining to the sales person what I wanted, I said something like, "I'm looking for a compact digital photo frame for my Grandmom's 80th Birthday". I then had the pleasure of hearing the exclamations of disbelief and awe that my Grandmom could handle the new technology at eighty years of age. I overheard one salesman tell his co-worker, "I have some lady on the phone that wants a digital photo frame for her eighty year old grandmother. And that's not all, this grandmother knows how to use a computer and she even asked her husband for a digital camera for her birthday. I don't believe this lady, but she swears it's true!"
Meanwhile, I thought, "Too bad they don't give senior discounts for technology-savvy grandparents at Radio Shack like they do at Kroger on Tuesdays!" Another sales person asked me if my grandmother was really eighty. She then asked if I lived near my grandmother so I could help her in case she got "stuck with the users manual". She was a bit surprised to learn there are grandparents who are not too old to learn new things. I guess I know more grandparents with technology skills than she does. The entire birthday gift research process was a neat experience, though. It made me realize and appreciate how much my grandparents still exemplify the phrase, "Life-long learning".
Grandmom's gift from my family was also fun to put together. I helped Mom research Grandmom's present, which was a 3.5 digital photo frame. Basically, Grandmom can insert a memory card into the side of the frame, which is only the size of a small wallet. The front of the frame will then display the photographs that are on the memory card in a slide show format. Mom called it a "digital brag book," similar to the bulkier photo books grandmothers or mothers carry in their purses. The reason that the digital photo frame is so nice is that the pictures can be easily changed whenever a new occasion comes along. On my Grandmom's new digital photo frame, I put a slide show of pictures from my cousin Heather's wedding. However before we left for home we added pictures of the birthday party that had just taken place. My grandmother can now show her friends how her eightieth birthday was celebrated with a viewable, digital slide show.
Now that you know what we got my Grandmom, I can share why it was so fun to help research her gift. I looked online for the digital frame Dad and Mom wanted to purchase. Then, I called local stores to check availability. While explaining to the sales person what I wanted, I said something like, "I'm looking for a compact digital photo frame for my Grandmom's 80th Birthday". I then had the pleasure of hearing the exclamations of disbelief and awe that my Grandmom could handle the new technology at eighty years of age. I overheard one salesman tell his co-worker, "I have some lady on the phone that wants a digital photo frame for her eighty year old grandmother. And that's not all, this grandmother knows how to use a computer and she even asked her husband for a digital camera for her birthday. I don't believe this lady, but she swears it's true!"
Meanwhile, I thought, "Too bad they don't give senior discounts for technology-savvy grandparents at Radio Shack like they do at Kroger on Tuesdays!" Another sales person asked me if my grandmother was really eighty. She then asked if I lived near my grandmother so I could help her in case she got "stuck with the users manual". She was a bit surprised to learn there are grandparents who are not too old to learn new things. I guess I know more grandparents with technology skills than she does. The entire birthday gift research process was a neat experience, though. It made me realize and appreciate how much my grandparents still exemplify the phrase, "Life-long learning".
I have a few more pictures of yesterday's birthday celebration, but unfortunately, I'm not able to upload them tonight. Maybe I'll post them later in the week for Wordless Wednesday.
