No Snow, But Plenty of Icing
Friday, February 25, 2011 at 1:34AM 
Wyatt, 5, Payton, 13, Janey, 9, and Sally, 8, get ready to celebrate a couple of birthdays: George Washington’s 279th and the big two-oh-two for Abraham Lincoln.We are few and far between.
The handful of families who are not going skiing this week.
I am not sure when Presidents Day became Presidents Week and cannot remember when Presidents Week became affectionately known as Ski Week. But it is so ingrained in the Newport Beach vernacular it is as if it is a constitutional amendment.
“A well regulated School, being necessary to the sanity of a free State (of mind), the right of the people to keep and bear ski equipment to be used the third week of every February, shall not be infringed.”
I know deep down my kids would love to be part of the excited buzz of conversations:
“Where are you going for Ski Week?”
“Mammoth”
“Oh, me too!”
“We’re going to Colorado…”
My kids know that we will be home. So in the true spirit of the holiday, we did what any flag waving, stuck-at-home –a-week-with-only-each-other family would do.
We planned a birthday party for Abraham Lincoln and George Washington.
I told the kids we would bake a birthday cake.
“It has to be a presidential cake,” I told them. That was a new word for the little ones.
After everyone seemed to get the term presidential, it was decided that a tall, multi-layer cake would be best. It was frosted white, with red scalloped edges. Two skinny wood skewers poked out of the cake; one with a picture of George Washington scoth taped to it, the other a picture of Abraham Lincoln. One of the kids printed out the message “Happy Birthday George and Abraham” and the slip of paper stuck nicely to the icing, just under the red frosted USA.
The menu planning was easy: barbecued chicken, corn on the cob, baked beans, salad, hot dogs and Tootsie Rolls.
The dining room looked positively presidential. The table set with red plastic plates, blue paper napkins and a white paper table cloth. Red, white and blue streamers hanging to match.
The sideboard in the dining room was cleared off and decorated with books pulled off our shelves: “President’s Day,” “Dear Mr. Lincoln,” “Fight for Freedom: The American Revolutionary War,” “American Revolution” and “Abraham Lincoln Will You Ever Give Up.”
Before dinner we built replicas of log cabins using the giant container of Tootsie Rolls from Smart and Final. They began to collapse and buckle. We laughed. But not before it was duly noted that from such humble beginnings, one of the greatest presidents of all time could emerge.
My husband asked trivia questions, such as “How tall was Abraham Lincoln?” and “Where did George Washington live while he was President?”
After dinner Payton stood on a chair at the head of the table and read “The Gettysburg Address,” which sparked a surprisingly interesting discussion.
Finally, the candles were lit and everyone sang, in various keys, “Happy Birthday” to the first and 16th presidents of the United States. We marveled at the five-layer pieces of cake that hung off the sides of the plate.
We didn’t see a single flake of snow this week, but I feel we added a drop to the Family Memories Bucket just the same. I hope the kids enjoyed our special birthday celebration and maybe even learned something about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. I was reminded that snow or sun, rain or shine, the most fun adventures are in my favorite place called together.
On Monday it’s back to the grindstone. But, Hawaii Week, formally called Spring Break and prior to that known as Easter Vacation, will be here soon enough.
Reader Comments (2)
What a great family story. Love Jill's columns!
Wonderful. Love the story and it is wonderful to see the kids. Keep the stories coming.