This is the fifth time Celina has celebrated her birthday in Texas. Well … not really. Last year she was in Thailand. But no matter how or where … the obligatory cake is a must and, at Celina’s request, it’s been a Black Forest cake ever since we emigrated. She never wanted it in Germany.
As Celina is now a university student, she has a huge new advantage for her birthday compared to her previous birthday – she still has a vacation because it’s longer at university than at high school. Great … even more time for highly effective bumming around.
While the birthday girl was still recovering from the exertions of the previous day and slept until midday, we (the dearest parents) got to work and baked a Black Forest cake, because they hadn’t been available at Walmart for two years. And we haven’t seen it anywhere else yet. But homemade tastes best anyway and it’s not quite as sweet as the shop-bought version.
The weather was at its best in the afternoon so we went on a trip to Austin Zoo Park (as we had done once before in 2020 for Celina’s 15th birthday). A lot has changed here. New enclosures have been built, some animals, e.g. the wolves, have moved to other areas and there are also new residents. But one thing has remained the same: the honorable rescue mission of this facility!
In the early evening, we went to our trusted western shoe store (Cavender’s) to look for new boots. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the 100 percent right one. On the way home we stopped at H-E-B to buy the forgotten balloons Celina had asked for.
And now let’s see what exciting adventures the new year of life has in store for Celina. Hopefully lots of good things and on that note: Happy Birthday!