Ginger turns 15! (and a bonus topic)

We adopted Ginger on March 10, 2007.  The Southern Arizona Beagle Rescue told us she was "about" five years old.  Two different veterinarians confirmed her age within the first six months of us owning her.   Since we have no information about her first five years of life, including a date of birth, we have always maintained that her adoption day is her birthday.

So, on Friday, March 10, 2017 we celebrated Ginger's 15th birthday.

Michael was at work and Spencer was at school, so Elliott and I sang her happy birthday when I gave her scrambled eggs for breakfast.  Elliott blew out the candle. 

I think she knew it was a big day for her. 

I tried doing a birthday photo shoot with Spencer's help when he got home from school.  It was less than successful. 

OK, these two are cute, but not the perfection I was looking for. 

I moved on to an easier subject: Ginger's balloon bouquet. 

Earlier in the day I called Michael at work and we had this conversation:

"I just left the dollar store and I'm going to Walmart.  Is there anything you need there?" 

"No.  But why were you at the dollar store?"

"To buy a balloon bouquet for Ginger"

Five minutes of total silence followed. 

I know she appreciated the effort. 

When Michael got home from work I had him help with the birthday photo shoot. 

"Dammit woman.  Is this really necessary?" 

Official 15 year!

We took a bunch of family pictures, but Elliott and or Ginger ruined most of them.  This is the best we got. 

Ginger was all exhausted from her photo shoot, so she rested while I made dinner. 

My brother Nick came up from Tucson on Friday afternoon and ate dinner with us that night.  You will soon find our why (it's the bonus topic). 

We gave Ginger her presents before dinner. 

Kid dinner

Adult dinner

I bought some ground beef to make Ginger a hamburger, but I never did it and I still feel guilty about ruining her big day. 

Low carb sugar free mousse for adult dessert. 

And store-bought cupcakes for kids. 

We opened a bottle of ice wine from Germany that we've been holding onto since about 2005. 

Michael's brother sent it to us when he was living in Germany.  It was pretty delicious. 

The next day, on Saturday March 11th, Nick and I got up at 3:15 in the morning, left the house at 4:00, stopped for coffee in Surprise, AZ at 5:00 and then drove to Kingman, AZ.  We arrived at 7:30 am. 

Up first, we stopped for a hearty breakfast and had the worst cups of coffee pretty much ever. 

It was seriously barely drinkable, but after a bottle of champagne, a bottle of wine and a bottle of ice wine the previous night, it was 100% necessary. 

After our hearty breakfast and some scenic pictures of the mountains, 

we arrived at our destination.  The prison in Kingman to visit our cousin. 

Ugh.  We got there at 9:00 am and stayed until 4:00 pm and then drove back home.  It was a loooooooooong day. 

Certainly not as long as an actual prison sentence, but, you know, it was long.  Nick and I agree we would not last on the inside.  We like our chapstick and outside water and social media too much.