Cheryl's birthday on 4 March 2001 fell exactly at the midpoint between our first date (4 July 2000) and our wedding day (4 November 2001); that wasn't planned, but we do like the symmetry! This was the first birthday that we have celebrated together (Mark's is on 2 June), and we started early with a little help from our friends.
A week before, on 25 February 2001, we met Cheryl's co-worker Susan and her new husband Chris for dinner at Mangosteen, a "Thai bistro" (say what?) just up the hill from Mark's apartment. Cheryl had first introduced Mark to them at their wedding shower a month or so earlier, and he was glad to have an opportunity to congratulate them on their marriage! We compared notes on "shadow bands," which are wedding bands specially made to conform to the contours of an engagement ring like Susan's or Cheryl's...
The task of bringing refreshments for the church choir rehearsal on Thursdays rotates among the choir members. We had signed up for the one right before Cheryl's birthday, 1 March 2001, so we brought this cake from King's Hawaiian Restaurant (one of our favorite places!), plus some cold vegetables, candy, and Cheryl's signature Chex Mix. The cake was "Mocha Haupia," crusted with crushed macadamia nuts; haupia, to which Cheryl introduced Mark in Hawaii, is a very smooth, sweet coconut-milk pudding.
To celebrate the day itself, we flew up to San Jose Friday night to spend the weekend with Cheryl's former co-worker Lily and her husband Ken. (Mark had met Lily when she came south last year to celebrate Donna's birthday, but this was his first chance to meet Ken.) Several of their friends were on hand for a game night; that was in full swing with a game of Cranium when we got there, and it continued well into the night with many a hand of poker (Texas Hold 'Em, of course!). Cheryl had brought her genuine Las Vegas chips to use on Lily's green velvet tabletop cover with built-in holders for your chips and your drink; "these things must be done proper and correct." Standing, left to right, are Ryan, Kim, and Ken; seated are Doris, Andrew, Diana, Lily, and Cheryl. Some of these folks are Vegas veterans, but Mark had a run of beginner's luck...
On Saturday, we went to San Francisco. Mark goes there almost every year in December to the winter meeting of the American Geophysical Union at the Moscone Center; it's right near the Metreon entertainment complex and the shopping district of Union Square, but he's never spent any time in either. So, we remedied that, then had dinner at Scoma's seafood restaurant on Fisherman's Wharf. Ken deserves a medal for navigating those narrow, crowded streets in an SUV in the rain!
Sunday was Cheryl's birthday! We went over to visit another of Cheryl's former co-workers, Sanjay, and his family. We dropped their two young sons, Dhiral and Pritesh, off at an aunt's place, then had lunch at The Olive Garden. Sanjay and his wife Sejal are on the right in the photo.
After lunch we picked up the two boys, then the grownups talked for awhile while the kids (Pritesh, Dhiral, and Mark) played. Then it was time to sing "Happy Birthday To You" and serve the cake! Here is everybody except Ken (who is behind the camera); Sanjay is holding Dhiral, and Pritesh is seated at the table.
Then Pritesh and Dhiral helped Cheryl blow out the candle! After we ate the cake, we said goodbye to Sanjay's family and went back to Lily and Ken's place to open presents. They gave Cheryl a Swiss Army knife that was nice enough to make Mark envious, and Mark gave her... Well, Cheryl had told him about a friend of hers who was looking forward to receiving an engagement ring from her boyfriend. On Christmas, sure enough, among the presents was a small box from him, and she eagerly opened it--only to be disappointed when, instead of a ring, it contained earrings! Mark made sure that his Christmas present for her was quite bulky, and unmistakably not a ring, but now that we are engaged he thought it would be safe to give her a small box containing, you guessed it, earrings.
The week after Cheryl's birthday, Mark had to go to Berkeley for business (about once a month he goes up with a group from Aerospace to irradiate electronic parts at the cyclotron), so Cheryl flew back to Los Angeles and then Mark went to Avis to rent a car and drive a little farther north. Cheryl's flight was delayed by weather, so we had time for an excellent home-cooked dinner before saying goodbye to Lily and Ken; then further delays once we were at the airport let us steal a bit more time together before we had to be separated all week. We had a fun time with all Cheryl's old friends (and Mark's new ones!), and we are very grateful to Lily and Ken for hosting us! It was a really enjoyable way to celebrate our first birthday together.
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