38 years old

Happy Birthday to me! Hopefully, I've gotten a bit wiser, too. My brain certainly has increased in size as anyone can see by how it has pushed my thick head of hair aside;) I celebrated my birthday by renewing my drivers license and car registration and then paying $45 for a parking ticket I got last month because I ignored the signs and the still small voice that said, "You should probably move your car." Dumb. Stupid. Idiot. I've noticed increased vigilance on the roads around here from traffic cops as the economy has tightened. Our neighbors to the north, East Cleveland, have taken especial advantage of mobile traffic cameras to capture license plates of speedsters and red light runners.

Anyway, back to my birthday. The kids made and decorated cupcakes using the supplies they received on Easter. We didn't have 38 candles, so they spread about 14 out and then challenged me to blow them out in one breath, which I barely mananged to do.
We ended up opening gifts and eating cake about three days after my actual birthday because Joseph was in Columbus with his Science Olympiad team competing in the state competition. Joseph was really excited to go, and we were pleased that he made it through without any reported incidents. This was the first year that his school had a team, so it was pretty exciting for them to make it to the state level. The commerative t-shirt from this event is now his favorite shirt, so I think he had a good experience.

This weekend, Jacob is in Quebec with other middle-school French class students from the district. He will get to stay with a French Canadian family for a couple days and attend school up there, too. Jacob is really interested in geography, cultures, languages and international politics. I hope he enjoys this little trip up north. Who knows, we may be living up there in a couple of years.

Speaking of international things, I passed the oral assessment for the Foreign Service Officer test. I now have a conditional offer of employment from the State Department, the condidtion being I need to pass security clearance, medical clearance and final suitability. All of us are going through complete physicals right now to be used to determine our suitability for living overseas. Emma was quite amused by having to pee in a cup. We were talking about the tests with the missionaries during dinner last week, and Emma told them that she had to pee in a cup. For some reason, she felt that a urine test was enough like school achievement tests that it needed to be part of the conversation.