Adam's Birthday

We started Adam's birthday weekend celebration with a trip to the outlet stores on Saturday morning. Every member of our family was in need of some type of clothing and we had put it off too long (Adam and I are both the type that wear things till they fall apart and still contend that they're fine. Case in point: my seven year old black peacoat with shredded lining in the inside so I can never get my arm in the sleeve on the first try and the bottom hem that's fallen out in the back...but it still works, right? On an unrelated note, anyone know where to shop for a good peacoat?). So it was good to get out and shop a little together. I'm still feeding the girls every three hours (and because I feed both of them at the same time it makes it a little hard to feed them anywhere but home) so we weren't sure if we could make the whole trip up to Park City and back in time, but it ended up working out great! We were able to both find exactly what we were looking for and some fun extra things!

And now an ode.

Oh Gap! How I love your jeans! No jeans fit me the way your Curvy Flare do... as if they were made custom to my contour. Praise your designers for figuring out how to cut denim in an hourglass shape rather than just a straight line. To go out at the hip and in at the waist--how novel! How luxurious to wear pants that fit through the leg but don't gape open at the abdomen. Have I reached dressing dreamland? Wardrobe wonderland? Judging from the hallelujahs I was shouting in the dressing room I wouldn't be surprised. (Trying on clothes can be FUN again?? A fit on the first try?? who knew?) 

Later that night we went out for a birthday dinner at Training Table. The meal was enjoyable and it was nice to be in a restaurant where we could take up space with two bulky carseats and not feel bad about it. We loved being able to just sit and talk to each other. The meal ended but we weren't quite ready to leave and opted instead to sip on our Hawaiin Punches a bit longer and savor the moment.... That was until we started hearing a strange "Psssshhht!" sound. The girls? No. A phone? No. Wait a minute--the high-school aged boys at the next table over doing Wolverine moves to each other (as in I'll dramatically raise my fist and come down and press it up against your arm since we both know my imaginary blades are totally slicing through your flesh) in SLOW MOTION with SOUND EFFECTS while their parents didn't bat an eye? Oh yes, my friends! And these aren't five year olds who think they're super heroes-- these are full on seventeen year olds who probably spend WAY too much time in a video game. "Pssssshhhht! Whoosh! Pssssshhht! Hah!" A minute or two of listening to that and the laughter was too much for us to keep in and we had to make our escape. What a birthday present.

Sunday (Feb 28th) was Adam's actual birthday. We went to church and then had a nice relaxing Sunday afternoon at home.

I hid a different present in every room for Adam so throughout the afternoon he went in each room and we played the hot and cold game until he found them. We're just kids at heart and both have a great love for a treasure hunt or a game.

We made a yummy homemade pizza for dinner and just enjoyed being together as the four of us. We played and laughed and tickled and relished every new expression and trick the girls are learning. We'll constantly talk to the girls but really be making jokes for each other to see who can crack each other up more. Being parents together has really made our best friendship that much stronger. We're so smitten by them. And it's funny that in this moment of their lives we kind of are everything to them. They look at us like we're celebrities and their whole face lights up when they see Adam or me--so much joy. Can it be like this forever? We really love being a family, we have so much fun together. Especially on Sundays where we can shut out the rest of the world and just recharge in the sanctuary of our home. Perfection. No wonder the family is God's unit of choice for us.

I'm not all fancy in my cake making like my in-laws, but I can make a mean 27 out of sprinkles.

Later that night we got a visit from some family members bearing gifts (books off the book list... always perfect for him!). They were so nice and we had a good time visiting with them. Thanks again!

We weren't able to celebrate with Adam's family until a couple weeks later, but it was so fun when we did. Bryan (Adam's little brother) was in charge of wrapping Adam's gift so he made it a little game too. First there was a huge box with a few layers of wrapping. Then packing peanuts. Then it turned out to only be a piece of paper which led him to the truck. Which turned out to be another clue cut up in a puzzle... you get the idea. The end gift was a nice tool box (handy for all the house/yard work we've started to do!). It was so kind.

And remember what I said about my in-laws and their cake skills? Michelle did not disappoint! Not only was the outside fun and perfect for Adam (and especially well-timed to celebrate his masters program at BYU) but we were blown away at the inside!! Blue? Wow, Michelle, you went above and beyond! And look at all those layers! I'm lucky if I can do ONE layer, much less FOUR! He loved it so much. And it was delicious.

What a great birthday. We had so much fun and Adam was so grateful for everyone's kindness. I love making birthdays a really big deal and I love that he'll let me even though he doesn't like being made a fuss over. His coworkers also had a really fun breakfast for him that I got to come to but I was too busy holding girls to take any pictures. Ah well, next time.