Keith turns 35

The last few days we have been celebrating the oldest person in our family.  The ancient and well-preserved Keith Morris.

Last weekend I wasn't on call so we decided to go out for his birthday and do whatever Keith wanted to do - which was dinner and a movie.  Since he is culinarily adventurous we reserved a table at the Abyssian for dinner  (a well-loved Ethiopian restaurant near our house) and then I had gotten tickets to see Captain America at the mall.  He's a man of simple pleasures and that's all right with me.  It even worked out that our beloved Ciara could babysit.

Saturday night arrived and it was pouring rain so Ciara was a little late due to traffic but her mom then drove us to the restaurant so it all worked out (I think it might have taken longer to go via car but it was a very lovely gesture and we took her up on it).  The Abyssian was a cute hole-in-the-wall place that indeed has wonderful food.  The host was this Ethiopian guy who had lived in Sweden so we had endeared ourselves to him by the fact that we are quite comfortable in Melbourne's "winter".  He was also amused that we could not finish the behemoth of the Chef's platter for 2 (I wish we had known it would be so enormous and we would have gotten the Chef's platter for 1!  The food was delicious though and topped off with Ethiopian beers it was perfect.

We ventured out into the mist again and hopped on a tram to the movie theatre.  We never dated as teenagers but I imagine this is what it would have been like: a mom driving us to dinner, hopping on public transit to the movie and then entering the movie theatre really solidified the teenage date theme night.  Movies in Melbourne are expensive (approx $20) but I had a coupon for $12 tickets.  I thought that the movie theatre arrangement would be similar to the Silver City experiences of which I have now become accustomed but actually it seems that Melbourne is about 20 years behind in movie technology as it felt like seeing a movie at Cinema City 12 (i.e. the cheap theatres for those not from Edmonton).  The theatre, the seats and the screen were tiny by my supersized standards and it was a big shocking.  Not as shocking as the parents who had their 3 year old at an 830pm screening of Captain America but still shocking.  It was a really good movie and Keith was happy to see it in theatres so that's all that matters.

On the way home we just made the tram but hadn't realized we got on the wrong tram out of Highpoint so when the conductor called "last stop" we were in the middle of Moonee Ponds and he had to take us back to a different corner to catch the 57.  This corner however was some dodgey place that emanated alcohol from the pavement as people poured out of pub doors in varying states of inebriation. We eventually caught the 57 tram and made it home to relieve Ciara - who was dutifully studying her physics textbook (we love her - she is awesome).

On Sunday it was still rainy in Melbourne so Cian and I decided to have a surprise Star Wars party in the evening for Keith.  We tied the spaceships they had made with Keith out of the Coke box and hung them from the lights by this moss green rope we found in the garage so it truly looked like they had landed in the Degoba system.  We made light sabers out of green grape kebabs and made chocolate chip Wookie cookies.  All with a sign that said "Happy Birthday Jedi Daddy". It was great fun.  We were going to watch Episode 5 but it wouldn't load on the computer and by that time the kids were exhausted so we all celebrated May the 4th in our hearts.

I had been telling Cian that we could make a cake for Keith on Tuesday so it would be ready for him on Wednesday so Tuesday morning at 6am Cian came to the head of my bed, woke me up and said it was time to make the cake.  I convinced him to wait til after work which made Keith happy because he used it as a "carrot" all day to make Cian do things ("Cian get out of the pool or you can't help mommy make the cake").  He was a very good helper and even suggested putting chocolate chips in the batter - a very good choice.  We made a circular cake and I iced it in white and blue so it kind of looked like Captain America's shield.  Keith said that he just needed a chocolate cake with chocolate icing but I informed him that it wasn't just about him :P.

Today was Keith's actual birthday. We sang "Happy Birthday" in the morning and excitedly waited for cake after dinner.  Some of us have to work on our patience as Keith found Emily in the fridge about 10 minutes before supper with a blue face and conspicuous evidence of missing icing.  Cian then said "Emily I am very mad at you for messing up the cake!" and she was very upset that everyone was mad at her.  Madness ensued.

I fixed the cake and we found a tea light for a candle.  After Keith blew out his candle I told the kids to say what they loved the best about their dad before they ate their cake.  Cian said "Dad's games" and Emily thought for a minute, put on a mischievous grin and said "...CAKE!!!" and popped the biggest piece in her mouth.  What a turkey.

And now a movie to round out the birthday.  We love having a projector for movies - I think we will really miss that when we don't have it anymore.

Happy happy 35th Birthday Keith!   We all have our reasons for loving you whether it be your fun games or your amazing abilities at a stay-at-home dad or your irresistable birthday cake.  You are the rock of our family and are truly appreciated every day.  We love you so much - we hope these last few days have been a grand celebration into 35 :).