Weekend Wrap-Up

Well, the 2011 Birthday Celebration is on the downhill slide.  I had a fantastic week and weekend celebrating and I still have a few more small get-togethers left.  I'd say 28 has been pretty great so far!

After a busy week, I think I crashed on Friday.  From the minute I got home from work until I woke up the next morning, I was in bed with a crazy headache.  I'm used to headaches, but this was the worst headache I've had in a while.  So, our Friday night was pretty shot.  Thankfully, Brandon has his company golf tournament that day so he was pretty worn out and was perfectly content just hanging out and relaxing.

Saturday morning I felt like a new woman so we got up and got busy tackling a list of home projects.  We spent most of the morning working around the house and then went out to run several errands in the afternoon. 

Saturday evening, we had dinner reservations at Luciano's, one of my favorite restaurants in our area.  We met up with two other couples for a little friend birthday celebration.  Oh my gosh.  Our meals were so good, but the company was even better!  There really is nothing like gathering with good friends.  We are so thankful to have such wonderful people in our lives!  After we finished dinner, and our complimentary birthday cheesecake (1 piece, 6 forks!), we rolled ourselves out of the restaurant and headed home for the evening. 

Sunday, we skipped out on church and tackled a few outside projects while it was still relatively cool.  Brandon mowed and cleaned out the window wells, we got my new patio chairs all set up, rearranged our other patio furniture, and we cleaned out our garage.  I'm pretty sure our garage hasn't ever been as clean as it is right now.  Now if we can only keep it that way...

After we finished our projects, we got ready for a little family birthday celebration.  We always get together with my Wichita aunts, uncle and cousins to celebrate birthdays.  My parents also came to town to spend the day with us.  Mom and I ran a few errands in the afternoon while the men watched golf and then we got busy preparing my birthday meal.  We had fajitas, Chipotle rice, salad, guacamole, and Carlos O'Kelly's chips and salsa.  My mom also made my grandma's chocolate sheet cake and homemade ice cream!  YUM!

We ended up eating dinner and cake and ice cream in the basement because our AC just couldn't keep up.  I believe it was 110 degrees yesterday, which eliminated the chance to eat outside.  Thankfully, we had TV trays, our pub table, and a card table to fit everyone.  Here is a picture of me blowing out my candles...

{Hi Aunt Sharon!}

I also got to open a few fun gifts - OPI nail polish and a cute bracelet.  Koby realized I was getting more attention than he was so weasled his way up in my lap while I opened my gifts.  Crazy dog!

I hope everyone had a great weekend.  I know ours was too short (as it usually is), but Monday is here whether we're ready or not.

Feeling VERY Blessed

I now realize why I love celebrating my birthday so much - birthdays are such confidence builders! Between the cards, text messages, phone calls, and Facebook messages, I definitely felt loved and extremely blessed.  I heard from friends I hadn't heard from in a while and I talked to each member of my family all in one day!

I also made out with some pretty sweet birthday gifts, and let's be honest, we all love gifts! 

First off, Brandon was so sweet this year.  I got these pretty flowers delivered to work right before he picked me up for lunch.

I also got a pretty fun little present - a new camera!  I love our "big" camera, but it can be a bit of a hassle sometimes, so I've been wanting a new pocket-sized camera that I can slip into my purse.  And I must admit, this camera takes pretty darn good pictures!

Brandon also loaded the following message on the camera so when I turned it on, I scrolled through each picture to read the message.

He's a keeper, huh?!?

Prior to my birthday, I received my gift from my parents.  Actually, if I'm going to be honest, I contacted them when they were on their trip last week to inform them that something I've been wanting for a LONG time was finally on sale and it would make for a great birthday gift but since it was on sale, I should probably go ahead and get it ordered and they agreed.  I will fill you in on the "deal" later, because it was like the best deal I've ever gotten.  Ever.  But, enough about that, here it is!

Ta da!!  I got the chairs that I have been drooling over all summer!!  I was so excited and I love them even more than I imagined I would.  Now, if it would only cool down a little so we could actually use them!  I did have to test them out for a short time though and they are so comfy.

{excuse the outfit and the wondering hose}

I can't wait for a cool fall evening when we can sit outside around the fire pit roasting marshmallows and eating s'mores! 

I also received some birthday money from Brandon's parents along with a few other very generous people and I plan to treat myself to a pedicure and massage.  Nothing says birthday celebration like a day of pampering! 

Along with all of this, I have wonderful friends that I've made lunch plans with everyday this week and others who have also been extremely generous gift givers.  As I mentioned, I just feel so blessed this year and I can't imagine my life without all of these people have surrounding me.