Golden Birthday

i turned 27 on the 27th - isn't that called your golden birthday?
{indulge me for a moment}

i have to admit i am not a huge birthday person. it's fun to get presents, and have a cake with candles but i don't need a huge party or big surprises or expensive gifts. just choosing what's for dinner would keep me happy.
{i have never liked all the attention on me during the happy birthday song. and when we got married, i was stressed about being the center of attention all day long, with everyone looking at me. on my wedding day! when you're supposed to be the center of attention! i actually lost sleep over it the night before. i think its a complex i have from standing in the front of the primary as a kid while being sung the "hello, hello"song, too many times as a visitor. it scarred me for life.}

anyway, it was a relaxed but productive day - dan was home from work and we both did a little bit of black friday shopping. then it was a quick dinner with the girls, cake and ice cream and presents with my in-laws.

madison was a great unwrapper. i really, really wanted a pressure cooker after going to a cooking class at Shar's Bosch but thought there was no way it would happen. my mom totally surprised me and I WAS SO EXCITED!!! {picture below: ok, maybe i just look happy, not really, really excited... because i happened to peek in the bag earlier in the week and knew what it was. but i swear when i saw it for the first time i literally freaked out!}

i got some awesome presents this year and a dozen of these incredible cupcakes:

are they as good as all the hype?
yes.
yum.
delicious.
worth it.
the money
and the drive.
thank you.
hannah.

i felt happy and loved. and full.

afterward we ran home with the girls, left them with the babysitter, and headed back out again. i thought we were maybe going to see new moon and i was pretty excited. but dan said, "i left my coat at my parents so we need to stop by there." my wheels were turning at this point and i wondered what was going on; by the time we got back to his parents i just about had it pieced together and was hoping we weren't going to see a movie. turns out we weren't - dan had something better planned. much to my surprise he arranged a family game night with his parents and siblings. i LOVE games and it was so fun to stay for a few hours and just play and play without kids climbing up and down from everyone's lap.

everything turned out perfect - an awesome day with great presents and even better company. i think my favorite part is that my husband knows me so well and knew exactly what to do and plan to make it a special day for me. i love you dan and thank you for the fun night everyone.
it was perfect.