Birthday Weekend

Friday was my birthday. It was a regular day. I had to go to work and all that. I picked up take-out and a movie on my way home. It was crazily windy and stormy and dark and cool out and it felt like fall which I hate. By the time I opened my gifts and we ate dinner and got the girls in bed Eric was falling asleep on the couch, so no movie.

But Saturday was pretty! We went to the zoo (along with 13,529 other people who had the same idea.) We've been planning to go all summer. We bought a membership so we can keep going all year and take friends with us. It was pretty nice all day. It didn't get too warm until close to the time that we were going to leave. The girls were getting all sweaty and the Pheebs had a faux-hawk which I unfortunately did NOT get a picture of.

We asked the Boogie repeatedly if she wanted to have her face painted but she refused. She did, however, ask to brush the goats so that was something.

On our way there we saw some signs for a puppet show they are doing, Xtinkshun (or something like that.)

As you know, the Boogie does NOT like puppets. She'd seen commercials for these and when she realized we were going to the zoo she wavered between excitement and fear. I assured her that the puppets were part of a show in one place -- "It will be just like a movie!" -- and that they would not be everywhere.

Guess what? The puppets were everywhere. There were small stages set up throughout the zoo and we would walk around a corner and there would be a stage with a little puppet show going on! Oops. She actually did pretty well. We only stopped and watched one show and while she clung to my leg the whole time she didn't cry or insist that we leave, and when we talked about it afterward she said she wasn't scared.

(This week is VBS and there will be a puppet show every night. We haven't told her yet. Ack.)

Anyway! Saturday was a nice day and I think we all had an enjoyable time. I'm sure Peabody would have enjoyed herself more if we would have let her out of the stroller more but overall she did really well. We even went to the bird "moobie." It was very pleasant to sit quietly in air conditioning for fifteen minutes.

When we got home there was a package in the mailbox. I thought maybe Eric had another surprise gift for me, but he didn't know what it was. It was from a seller on Etsy.com and was a beautiful handmade bag! There was no message indicating the giver. It took me a couple of hours of pondering to realize that it was just the sort of thing Mrs. Cowboy would pick out for me ... and sure enough, it was from her! It is so lovely. Thank you, Mrs. Cowboy. You know me well. :)



After the Sunday morning service we all went to 52 for pizza and birthday cake. Eric had another mysterious gift with a card. I had no idea what it could be and honestly didn't even try to figure it out. He had me open it with everyone gathered around ... and it was a NOOKcolor!

I was completely and totally surprised! What a cool electronic toy. I can read books, surf the web, send email, listen to music, play games, watch movies, and who knows what else. All of our siblings went in on it. What really fun and awesome gift -- I'm already half-way through my first book! The first thing we downloaded was a Bible (so I could use it at church last night, of course) and a couple of children's books. I know it will bring me many hours of enjoyment. THANK YOU to everyone who chipped in!

So, overall, it was a great birthday. Even though I didn't want to turn thirty, I can't complain about the way I turned thirty. Eric did a great job of making it a special weekend. He put a lot of thought into it and that means so much to me. What a wonderful husband God has given me. :) What a wonderful family I have, too! Sweet girlies and -- on both sides -- fantastic parents and brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews ... I am so blessed.