my birthday and happy dance!

as of yesterday, i am officially 26!  august crept up on me and i sort of forgot about my special day until only a few nights before.  it's hard to believe how much good has come my way in these short twenty six years.  so much good.  sure, there are hairy days around here.  a perfect life would not make us fully appreciate the joyful moments as much if there weren't a few bumps here and there.  but as i look back at all i've got, i mean the whole picture, it's easy to see how blessed i am.  i honestly have all i've ever wanted and get goosebumps thinking about our future.  i've got this one-of-a-kind loving, beautiful, healthy, growing family.  a simple, cozy home.  my dream job.  and a city i adore to explore and wander.  if twenty six looks like this, i cannot imagine what god has in store for the next chapters of my life.

just like all days, my two favorites were pretty awesome on my birthday.  stella and i did some cuddling, jammy hangs for the better part of the morning, amazing thrifting (i got that chair up there for five bucks!), chipotle eating (thanks, husband for the lunch surprise), talking to baby brother, and movie watching before andrew got home.  as soon as he took off his tie, we were soon off to our favorite little mexican restaurant just across the boarder.  we frequent this place so much, weekly in fact, but i could not think of any other place i'd rather have my birthday meal.  when andrew asked where i wanted to go for dinner i sputtered, "el camino real, okay?" soon enough we elbow deep in the best pastor tacos we have ever had.  listen up: they roast the pork on a rotating spit and let juices of hot pineapple drip down the meat.  it's food porn at its finest and i proudly ate more than the grown men sitting to both my left and right.  boom! 

so my belly was entirely too full, but that didn't stop us from hitting up sonic for a giant malt shortly after.  chocolate banana to be precise.  the three of us headed to the park to savor it but i was the one who ate the whole damned thing.  andrew ran around chasing stella up and down the slides as i sat on a nearby bench slurping away as the sun went down and the fireflies came out.  

once we got back home there was a special gift waiting for me on our bed.  drum roll, please!  A GROWN UP CAMERA, you guys!!!  i am pretty sure this is my favorite birthday gift to date.  as much as i adore my iphone and will continue to take photos with it, i now have a real camera to fiddle around with and use to document our lives.  i am pretty darn thrilled and spent a few hours today learning how to use it and just about peed my pants when i got the manual settings to my liking.  i might just do a little room tour later this week. 

herein comes the happy dance part of this blog title.  there was a long one that ended with three goofy cats piled on a queen size bed giggling wildly.  i could blame it on the sugar, but it was pure happiness bursting through.  oh, it was the best day.  my perfect day.  and it just so happened to be on my birthday.  :)