Kidnapped for my Birthday

This past weekend, I had made plans to celebrate my birthday at the Padre with some girlfriends.  We were going to go out on Sunday evening that way most of us would not need to have baby sitters since the dads where going to be at home.  I had plans to work on Cubbies stuff at church, have a lazy Sunday afternoon, then go out in the evening.  After the kids (including Ryan's friend Madelyn, who was spending the night) went to bed on Saturday night, Phil very seriously said, "I have something I need to tell you." I sat down and listened.  He said, "Something is happening tomorrow morning.  I can't tell you what, but Lorie is going to be here at 7 AM and you need to be ready to go."  My mind started racing.  I always like to know what is coming next and this time I had no answers.   Of course I asked, "What should I wear?" Followed by, "Who will do my Cubbies stuff?" "Who will do Madelyn's hair?"  "Where am I going?!?!" "Why on earth is Lorie getting up and getting me so early?!?!"

Phil assured me he had it all under control.  I texted Lorie asking if she would really be here at 7 AM and what should I wear.  She confirmed the 7 AM and told me to wear something cute, casual, and cool (as in, it would be hot).  I picked something out and Phil confirmed it would be okay.

The next morning, Lorie was right on time, if not a little early.  We hopped in the car and went straight to Starbucks.  Lorie would not tell me where we were going.  We got on the I-5 and headed South.  Still, I didn't know what was going on since I knew that if we were going to L.A., nothing would be open yet.  I was really confused, but excited.  After a while, Lorie got a text and asked me to read it to her.  It was from her mom who said, "Have fun at the Rose Bowl."  I read it and Lorie screamed, "NO!" since I wasn't supposed to know yet.  I asked her what was at the Rose Bowl and she told me the Flea Market.  I squealed and got really excited.

We had a great drive down.  When we got to the Rose Bowl, we opened the car door only to feel that the air was already very warm and muggy.  We got our tickets and headed in.  And seriously, aren't these tickets the best?

Me at the entrance

 Lorie at the entrance

One of the first vendors we went to had these amazing pillows.  The fabric was unique and was quilted with thick embroidery floss in a chunky running stitch.  They had really squishy down inserts and felt and looked heavenly.  I wanted one.  Or three.  Finally after drooling over several, I asked the price.  $60 for the small pillows, $120 for the big.  Yikes!  I sadly left the booth empty handed.

I found a couple of things that I was interested in, but I had such a hard time making up my mind because the flea market was so large with so many treasures.  Lorie found a lot of things right off the bat.  Pretty soon, she was in need of a bag lady cart, so we went back to a vendor at the entrance of the flea market and she got one.  I also got us some waters as the temperature was stifling.  

There were so many amazing things to see and buy.  One could spend a lot of money in a hurry.  At one point, I noticed that a cotter pin was on the ground at one of the booths where we had stopped.  I thought about picking it up, thinking it might have been part of our cart, but I thought our cart still looked fine.  I left it there.  After while, I noticed both wheels were going wonky and that our cart was doomed.  I wished I had picked up the cotter pins.  We hobbled and dragged the cart back to the seller for an exchange.  We were quite a sight.  When we got back to the seller, Lorie's particular cart had been sold out, but they repaired it for us and we were back on our way.  I picked up another round of waters for us and we continued on.

I finally went back to one of the vendors and bought the little fabric wall hanging thing that is hanging over my arm.  It had some sort of log cabin design in the center done with Japanese silks, then the outside was stitched with a Japanese embroidery style.  I love it and am glad it was still there when I went back.  

Next we went to lunch at a fantastic restaurant in South Pasedena called Mike and Anne's.  Lorie had a burger and I had a turkey avocado sandwich with lots of olive oil and garlic.  We shared some sweet potato fries.  It was heavenly.  

Next, was Anthro.  Strangely, I didn't buy anything.

And we ended the day with a quick stop in Valencia for Starbucks and headed home.  

After getting home, I had a little time to shower and change, then it was time for the Padre.  I had a great time with the girls and a fantastic day.  I felt very loved and celebrated.  Lorie, thanks for the great trip.  Phil, thanks for letting me go and watching the kids.  Girls, thanks for hanging out with me and making my night special.  Happy Birthday to me!