It used to be, back when we lived in DC, we’d rent a limo, gather our friends, and ride around looking at Christmas lights.
We decided to start a new tradition – and to do it on my birthday (a week before Christmas): we’ll let Tinkerbell spread her wings, and we’ll celebrate with friends and food and Christmas lights!
What fun it was!! This was one of my best birthdays ever! Of course, I’ve only had 28, okay, maybe 38, of them so there are many more to come! Maybe next year, more friends (and family!) can join us!
Larry, Joanne, Santa Claus, the birthday babe, Suzanne and Rick (Go Vikings! Boo Jets!) posing in front of Tinkerbell before heading into Oregano’s for pizza!On our way into Oregano’s – ready to eat!!This is when Larry spilled the beans….in addition to being a retired Chicago police officer, he’s now an ordained minister! And he drives a van offering free mammograms (okay, the van part isn’t true… yet…)Happy Birthday to me!And then we hopped into Tinkerbell and started our journey around Tucson looking at Christmas light displays. Joanne and I had lots of good laughs talking about astrology!And Suzanne and Joanne chatted about psychosis, I mean, psychics 😉Lots of houses went ALL OUT on Christmas displays!Sorry for the fuzzy pics – I tried not to use a flash and well… you see what happens. Anyway, Larry and Rick helped Santa Jay navigate 🙂And… even with a flash, it was tough to get a good group shot in front of all the lights. But we had a blast and lots of laughs!Holy Moly! What a display! Now’s a good time to thank Suzanne and Larry for their excellent photography skills documenting our evening!But this Christmas display topped (no pun intended) them all!Intermission… gosh, I hope Jay doesn’t let his real hair grow this much!The next night, we did it all again with more friends! From left to right: Alba, Helen, Santa, Keegan, Brenda, Jason, and George. Alba’s from Italy; Helen and George are from Louisiana/Pittsburgh; Brenda, Jason and Keegan hail from Oregon; and Santa comes from the North Pole!Keegan makes the cutest Santa!Alba helped navigate and kept Jay company in the cab.And… before all of the Tinkerbell festivities began, we kicked off my birthday celebration with a good ‘ole fashioned Axe Throwing contest! (Jay, being from Minnesnowta and accustomed to axes, won). My nephew Ian (from Oregon and going to U of A) hit a bullseye on one of his first throws! And Rick (of the Suzanne and Rick combo) came in second place. He claimed it was his first time throwing an axe but he is from New York City, so one can only assume he carries an axe when he goes to work every morning. What a WONDERFUL birthday it was! Thank you everyone (including family and friends who couldn’t make it to Tucson but who called and wrote in with joyful fishes and slightly tuneful song) for helping me ring in “another year around the sun!”
Tinkerbell's Travels 
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