Birthday Weekend: Sunday (My Actual Birthday)

On my actual birthday we got up and Dan made me breakfast, we then got ready for church.  After church Jannifer and Danny had lunch we us, played the new game they gave me (thanks Jannifer, Danny, Noelle & Jared), and then left for Vegas.  They also brought a present from my parents (Piano Guys 2 CD and Cold Stone gift card) and Dan got me a diamond ring for my right hand.  I was spoiled!

That evening Dan's Mom made me a yummy pizza dinner with the most delicious pumpkin birthday cake.  His parents also got me a fun cookbook.  It was a great birthday!

They got me the game, Thurns & Taxis.  We love new games!

27!

Happy Birthday to me :)

Even Claire tried some pumpkin cake!

So yummy!  Recipe found here.

Thanks to everyone who made my birthday a great one!

Birthday Weekend: Saturday

On Saturday we went to breakfast for my birthday at the Black Bear Diner.  If you are ever in town you should go there because they have the yummiest pancakes!  Plus they gave me a free birthday meal :).  Dan had this awesome surprise planned but unfortunately it didn't work out.  His gift to me this year was a glass tile back splash in our kitchen; something I have been wanting ever since we moved in.  Well he had planned to have them start to install it while we were at breakfast, then I would come home to it partially done.  Unfortunately the tile he picked had to be sent from California and took forever to get here.  He even tried to overnight it but they said no.  So... he told me about his awesome plan while at breakfast and finally a week later they are starting on our back splash.  I will post a pic once it's finished.

After breakfast we came home for the baby to nap.  That afternoon my sister, Jannifer, and her husband, Danny, stopped by on their way to Vegas.  They joined us for the rest of my birthday festivities that day.

We took Claire to the carousel for her first time:

She really did like it, even though she never smiled while Dan was taking pictures.

Jannifer is clearly having the most fun! I was just trying to make sure Claire didn't fall off the horse.

That night we went to dinner at one of my favorite Mexican restaurants while Claire stayed at Grammie & Papa Joe's house.  Thanks to them and Andrew & Jess and their kids for keeping Claire entertained!  I don't even think she noticed we were gone.

We then finished the night off with delicious Sweet Tooth Fairy cupcakes, one of my favorites!

Happy 27th to me!

Delicious and pretty!

And then of course we played games with Janni and Danny; one of our favorite things to do while guests are in town!

Dan's 30th

I meant to blog yesterday to say Happy Birthday to Dan!  However, I was so busy getting ready for his big celebration that I didn't have time to blog.  I hardly had time to sit down.  I was busy shopping and baking and cleaning and wrapping presents and all that fun stuff.  But it was worth it and I think Dan had a great birthday!

He turned the big 3-0 so I wanted to make sure it was a special day.  I decided to do a theme where we celebrated all 30 years of his life.  I got 30 presents and they all had to do with his past, present and future.  I even asked his siblings and friends from growing up what he liked when he was a little kid, to make sure I got the right things.  Unfortunately there weren't too many 80s toys out there (maybe I should have gone to DI).  But luckily things like Ninja Turtles and Star Wars are still around.  And if you are wondering, yes it is difficult finding 30 presents! I think I went to every store in town, some more than once.  Amazon was also very helpful in my quest for 30 presents.

I also made a poster of Dan with pictures from his whole life.  Here is a little sample of some of the pics I used:

Isn't he so cute???  I love how light his hair is.  We're thinking we'll have blonde babies :)

Not sure what age, but still cute!

Middle school age!  I told him I would have had a crush on him back then :) haha

High school age... still would have had a crush on him ;)

mission pic!

The first picture of us taken together ever!  We weren't even dating yet. 

And here are a few pics from his party.  We were joined by many great family and friends.  I just wish I would have taken more pictures!  

The cake!  Thank you, Costco.

Opening his 30 presents.  The kids loved helping him!  I wish I would have taken a picture of all 30 before they were opened.  That wrapping was a lot of hard work!

As kids their dad would always make them a 2nd cake just to burn (that's what happens when you have 5 boys).  So I had Dan's dad help me create a cake just for the purpose of burning.  Dan loved it!

Love you, Dan!  Hope you had an amazing birthday!

Birthday Week

Most people know I love my birthday!  I make sure it is thoroughly celebrated every year.  I don't just celebrate for one day, but usually the whole month of October.  This means if I see something I like, I usually buy it and tell Dan "it's for my birthday!"  Or we might go out to dinner more than usual, or stop for cupcakes because hey, "it's my birthday month!"  I figure I might as well live it up!  And luckily I have an awesome husband who supports birthday month fully.

But this post is about Birthday Week.  I feel we did a lot the week of my birthday and I just considered it all part of the celebration.  My parents even came down to celebrate with us!  It also happened to be my fall break, which was perfect timing.

Here's what we did...

Saw Aladdin at Tuacahn!  We all really liked it.

"A whole new world!"

The next day we did a session at the St. George temple with my parents.  We were able to do some work for Dan's ancestors.  I love doing family names!  It was great being there and I loved going with my parents.  I just didn't love the part at the end when I really had to go to the bathroom (thank you, pregnancy!)

After the temple my mom and I went shopping while Dan & Dad went golfing.  This arrangement pretty much happens every time they visit.  My mom helped me pick out fabric to make a car seat cover and then we stopped at TJ Maxx.  Because what's a trip to St. George without a stop at TJ Maxx?

That night we went to the Piano Guys concert!  Unfortunately Steve, the cellist, wasn't there because his wife had a baby that day (good reason not to be there).  So it was just Jon.  But Jon always puts on a great show!  We really enjoyed it.  

My sister Jannifer & her husband, Danny, also happened to be at Piano Guys that night.  They were down in St. George celebrating their anniversary.  So after the show we met up with them for some Yogurtland!  I love Yogurtland!

Happy 2 years!

Parents!

Not the best photo of us, but had to show we were there too!

Then on my real birthday, my parents headed to Las Vegas for a wedding.  You see, when you are mission presidents you get invited to lots of weddings.  I feel like my parents have a wedding almost every weekend! While they were gone Dan took me maternity clothes shopping, then we stopped at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory for caramel apples, and lastly we went to see the movie Hotel Transylvania.  It was sorta cute, but not anything I'd really rave about.

Once my parents were back we all went to Buca di Beppo for my birthday dinner.  Jannifer & Danny met up with us for that part too.  It was yummy (I definitely recommend their apple gorgonzola salad)!

We then ended the night with cake!  And yes Dan made my cake (he only had a little supervision from me).

Ahhh 26!

First cake Dan has ever made!  Turned out delicious!

Making a wish!

And that was birthday celebration for this year!  I think we did pretty well.  Thanks to Dan & my parents & Janni & Danny for celebrating with us!

I forgot to mention, Dan got me a serger as my birthday gift this year!  Can't wait to start sewing with it!  And thanks to my many other family members and friends for the phone calls, gifts, cards, facebook messages, texts, etc.  I felt very loved :).

Happy Birthday!

To my most amazing husband!  Here he is with all his presents (spoiled! haha... but he more than deserves it):

What he wanted most this year was a recliner.  We ended up driving to Cedar City this week to get the one he wanted.  It was quite the trip!  We got there and it was 17 degrees!  I forgot what freezing felt like.  I also failed to mention we were both in sweatshirts- dressed for St. George winter, not Cedar winter!  It was also quite the task trying to fit the recliner in the back of the car and we stood in the cold for about 20 minutes trying to get it to fit (thanks to the worker who also stood in the cold to help us).  Luckily it fit and we were so happy to get back to our 38 degree St. George.  It always baffles me how just 40 minutes away it is sooooooo much colder.

Regardless, it was worth it.  The birthday boy (i mean man) needs his birthday throne :).  Happy Birthday, Dan!  I love you!!!

25

Today I realized I never blogged about my birthday!  My most favorite day of the year and I didn't even blog about it... unbelievable!  So here it is, my 25th birthday story...

The morning of my birthday Dan made me breakfast.  I then rushed to work and decided not to mention my birthday to anyone.  Mostly because I forgot to bring a birthday treat and I knew if the kids knew it was my birthday they would expect a treat (because that's what you do in elementary school).  However, towards the end of the day the head Special Ed. Teacher told me Happy Birthday and she and the kids sang to me (ok, mostly she did... the kids kinda just stared haha).  I forgot she had put my birthday up on her calendar in her classroom.  She said she wanted to get a treat for my birthday, but had a meeting that morning and wasn't able to.  Oh well, less sugar is probably a good thing.

After work I went home and hung out around the house.  I then decided I needed to go shopping and do something fun for my birthday!  I went to a few stores, but didn't buy anything.

That night Dan came home and gave me presents!  He got me 2 Wii games (Just Dance 3 and Mario Kart), a cushioned mat for the kitchen, and an ice cream maker attachment for my Bosch.  We then went restaurant hopping!  We started at Red Robin for our appetizer and drinks.  We love their spinach artichoke dip!

The sweater I am wearing I called my "birthday sweater" because my sisters got it for me for my b-day.

 Then our waiter asked if I wanted people to sing to me and I said no.  He asked if I wanted ice cream and I said yes!

Yummy!  Dessert before dinner? Yes, please!

 We then headed to Red Lobster for dinner.  We were pretty full so we shared a dinner of lobster, shrimp & scallops.  Delicious!  The waitress also asked if I wanted people to sing to me and I said no, again!

After dinner we decided to get dessert at DQ.  We bought ice cream cupcakes and took them home because we had family coming (Dan's brother and wife & kids stayed w/ us that weekend).  We waited to eat the cupcakes until the next day because we knew the sugar would make the kids hyper!

It was a fabulous birthday and I really appreciated all of the calls, texts, cards, presents, and facebook messages from so many people.  I felt so special!  And of course thanks to Dan for spoiling me.  He's good at that!

My birthday celebration has even continued because I got my final present yesterday.  I have been wanting a steam mop for a long time (especially since we moved into our house with so much tile! Swiffer just wasn't cutting it anymore).  I initially got a cheap Shark steam mop at Walmart and it did not work.  It was one of those "you get what you pay for" moments.  After checking about 5 or 6 stores, we finally found what we were looking for last night at Sears.  I ended up getting this steam mop and I love it!  I wish we could have ordered it from Amazon (much cheaper), but they say my address does not exist (that's what happens when you build a house).  Anyway, I mopped all of my floors today and even enjoyed myself!  It works so well and my floors feel so clean!  Another thing I love about it is it works on carpet too.  Awesome birthday present, for sure!