Pre-birthday party

The perfect, most relaxing birthday weekend is:

• Watching TV a little bit louder in the evening because Jenna is sleeping at Aunt Missy's house
• Sleeping in until 9:30 because Jenna is also spending the day at Aunt Missy's house
• Enjoying Jake's homemade pancakes, scrambled eggs and fresh peaches without cutting any of it into toddler size bites or worrying about syrup dripping onto the floor under the table (okay, sometimes Jake does that but at least he can clean up after himself)
• Not cleaning up homemade pancakes, scrambled eggs and fresh peaches or washing any associated dishes
• Taking my time to get ready for the day without feeling guilty that Jenna is watching TV while I do so and without sharing a small bathroom space
• Taking a leisurely drive around our new town with the windows rolled down
• Enjoying a perfect 71-degree day
• Enjoying uninterrupted conversation with Jake
• Dipping my McDonald's fries into a chocolate milkshake (it's no In-N-Out, but when it's all you've got.... call it love, right?)
• Taking a stroll through the Metro Park without pushing a stroller and having a free hand to hold Jake's


With about 4 inches less hair. Feels so good - thanks, Mom!

• Browsing the aisles at Pat Catans Crafts (with no complaining from Jake)
• Having Jake take my hand on the way home from picking up Jenna and saying, "I needed that."

Meeeeeee, too.

Thanks Nate, Melissa, Sydney, Macey, Porter and Jake for the perfect, most relaxing weekend.