26 and counting

Besides the fact that Monday was a federal holiday and we didn’t need to work, this was a pretty good weekend because (drum roll) it was my birthday! Saturday was the big day and we started celebrating early.

For a few weeks I’d been thinking about things we could possibly do for my birthday. Last year I turned 25 and I threw and AWESOME Superhero themed party. It wasn’t Superhero themed because I’m a big comic nerd or really even into things like that at all. It was thus themed because of Pinterest. ‘What does Pinterest have to do with your birthday?’ you might be thinking. I answering with a resounding, “Pinterest has everything to do with everything in our daily lives today!” And if you don’t agree you are just kidding yourself. Thousands of people are on Pinterest every hour and every minute of every day. There are millions upon millions of craft, recipe, DIY, clothing, animals, cars, and celebrities style ideas to make anyone sick. But does it? NO! We crave more! In our generation of must-have-now-for-satisfaction mindset we’ve created our bucket lists and perfect lives on our Pinterest boards and waste real time we could be doing something worth while (like working on that perfect set of 6 pack abs) by continuing to peruse the Pinterest interspace. But I digress…

So my birthday party last year was Superhero themed because I saw these cute, easy, felt Superhero masks you can make for your kids for a party for them. I thought, “How cute! I’d love to do this for my kids someday!” (Let it be said now that I do not have any children at the moment so this is exactly what I mean about creating our lives on Pinterest and not doing.) Then I thought with dread, “But what if my kids won’t want a Superhero themed party?” Therefore I came to the logical conclusion, “Then I’ll just have to plan and make these masks for my own party!” Brilliant! This is how and why my 25th birthday was a Superhero themed party and I spent about 2 months buying, cutting and sewing craft felt into 25 fantastically crafted Superhero masks for me, Scott and 23 of our closest friends. It was an awesome party and everyone was impressed by my craftiness and was kind enough not to comment on what a complete waste of time it was to make them or tell me I should get a life because I had way too much time on my hands. Thank you, dear friends.

A small selection of masks I made. Can you figure out who?

Back to the present which still holds the dilemma of how to celebrating my 26th year of life. Now answer me this, how could I possibly out do my 25th birthday party? And also, what’s so special about turning 26? If you have decent answer to either of these, let me know so I can go back in time, tell my almost 26 year old self and celebrate appropriately.

Well I’ll get on with the story since I’m sure I’ve lost about half of you. So as your reward, this is how I celebrated my 26th birthday.

Friday night: Stonebridge High School is Scott’s Alma Mater and it was their last home game of the season and he wanted to go. Brenton is also an Alumnus of the school and he was going to be there. Since Brenton is so much fun I decided it would be a good idea. It was an enjoyable evening where the Stonebridge Bulldogs trounced the Thomas Jefferson Colonials 35-6 and the Marching Band performed an amazing Les Miserables half time show. In case you couldn’t guess, we really came for the half time show and it did not disappoint. Apart from the night being absolutely freezing, it was a good time.

Saturday: November 9, my birthday. Scott and I left the house about 10am to go to the Skyline drive in Shenandoah National Park for a scenic, non-strenuous hike. When we reached the summit we had a perfect view of the town on the other side of the mountain in a picturesque valley with autumn leaves and golden fields. I’d brought along a celebratory bottle of Martinelli’s Sparkling Apple Cider accompanied by pretzels and Trader Joe’s Cookie Butter. We really know how to party! The Martinelli’s was a little bubbly due to the jostling of the pack and we didn’t give it adequate time to settle so when Scott took his first swig, it was forced right out of him again in comical fashion. You should have been there.

 

If you look close enough at the writing on the top bar, the third line says "Mary's Rock". That's where we went.

 

My phone has panorama capabilities! Behold, The Shenandoah National Park.

After our glorious hike, we drove to a terrific local ice cream stand with fresh, locally made ice cream. And guess what?! You can get whatever you want (except for a pint or quart) for FREE on your birthday! Happy Birthday to me. Dinner was a couple hours later at California Pizza Kitchen with the whole Hammond Family which included Mom, Dad, brother Brad, sister-in-law Sandra and niece Ashlyn. Dinner was followed by Ender’s Game the movie, not to be confused with the book. (haha! That would have been great, dramatic story time reading of Ender’s Game.) Lastly, home for presents and PIE!

Sunday: Church as usual. Our ankle biters (Primary class) were much more behaved than usual but it wasn’t because of my birthday. There were about half of them and we finally gave them rules! I know, 3 months later. Dinner was served later in the day to accommodate the schedule of the Jackson family church schedules. Dinner was wonderful with all my VA relatives joining us. More pies and presents followed.

Monday: Veteran’s Day holiday. This day was spent with Scott going out and about the town shopping (browsing really) and then home for a quiet, relaxing evening where we made crepes or palacsintas (paul-a-cheen-ta), Hungarian pancakes. We made them like the nenis (nay-ni) (old ladies) make them and they were delicious!

That’s everything, in black and white (except for the color pictures) and I gotta say, I think it was a pretty great birthday. I got what I really wanted, quality time with Scott.