26

I turned 26 last week and I just need to say a quick thanks to my husband for making it such a great birthday. He outdid himself this year and truly made me feel special. He got me some new Reebok Runtone shoes to help me on my quest to get in shape... something I didn't ask for and was really surprised by. And in case anyone is wondering, they really seem to work. I wore them for about an hour and a half running errands and grocery shopping and my legs were totally burning by the time I got home!

He pulled out more surprises by coming home a little early from work. He called me and told me to open the front door... behind which he was standing with a beautiful bouquet of flowers.

Then he took us out to dinner, fulfilling my one birthday request to not cook! We went to Denny's because I wasn't really craving anything in particular and I thought we might as well take advantage of the free build-your-own-grand-slam on your birthday. Maybrie ended up eating free too because kids eat free on Tuesday... so we fed the whole family for the price of one! After exchanging my new shoes for the right size we stopped at our friends the Van DeVenter's house where he had arranged to have a Dairy Queen ice cream cake for me. It was a good day. Of course, birthdays with kids are full of other fun surprises like your baby crying during dinner in a public place, having to feed your baby in the car in the parking lot outside the shoe store, having food spilled on you by your child, and enjoying a birthday song sung by your 2 year old (Happy birthday "to to").