Birthday Blessings

Who says that birthdays only have to last for a day? I had a great time celebrating my birthday over the past several days.

The celebration actually started a week before my birthday, with dinner at our favorite hole-in-wall restaurant, Juan's Hacienda. The Marlows and the Piggotts surprised me by picking up my tab for dinner, which was a nice treat.

I took the day off work on Thursday, and spent the morning at the zoo with Andrea and another friend. It was a beautiful day to be outside! Although I then did treat myself to some "inside" time, by seeing the movie "Snow White and the Huntsman". Kristen Stewart is a rather poor actress, but the movie was mindless fun, which is what I was going for.

I also took the day off work on Friday, and enjoyed getting some very sweet calls, texts, and FB posts from friends and family. As I headed to west Michigan Friday afternoon, I took an impromptu detour to see my very pregnant friend Lisa, and encouraged Charlotte that June 8 was a great day for a birthday. (She disagreed, as she is still in utero as of this writing).

Friday evening found me with the parents, enjoying a yummy pasta dinner downtown Holland. It was another beautiful night, so we strolled around downtown for a bit, where I promptly spent the birthday money my parents (and then some) had given me at this store. I bought for myself:

The nail polish is actually from Target, but it was also a little gift to myself. The color is called "Dutch Tulip", so I kind of had to buy it.

After strolling downtown for a bit, we headed back to Hamilton for some small-town ice-cream, and then sat around the fire pit talking.

Saturday was another beautiful day, and Mom and I headed to the farmer's market. After the farmer's market, I took to the hammock in my parent's backyard with a good book...which quickly turned into a nap. 

Saturday evening was spent celebrating my cousin's wedding, and catching up with other cousins and snuggling new babies. The night was rounded out with coffee and a good talk with my sister and parents.

Sunday was church, and then back to Detroit. All in all, I feel incredibly blessed to have been able to spend the weekend with people who love me!