Surprise Outing and Birthday BBQ

Hi all, this week has been fun so far! Since the show has been over, I have obviously been a bit more active with the blog because I have some time in the evenings to get more done, so that has been nice. And, some fun things have happened this week to make it really nice. On Wednesday, Kirby told me that I needed to have Jeff ready and dropped off at the babysitter's by 4:30pm because we were going on an "outing." I had no idea what to expect and I like surprises so I didn't try too hard to figure it out. We left and he said to drive to Portland, and he took me to an Amos Lee concert! It was at the Portland Zoo which is a pretty cool venue for a concert actually. It was outside (right in front of the African Elephants area) and we had our camp chairs, and we got elephant ears (weird to sell right next to the elephants, I wonder if kids get confused thinking they are actually elephant ears..) and a bottle of wine. It was a really good concert. I have seen him before, and his performances are as good if not better than when listening to the albums. He always changes things up in a creative way, and his little comments in between are intelligent, entertaining, and funny. Noah, Sarah, and Austin were there too, and we haven't seen them in a while. That was a really fun night.

Kirb and I at the concert

Then on Thursday, my brother Brent and his girlfriend Terra arrived. We have had fun hanging out and look forward to the next week while they are here. Today was the big birthday BBQ for Jeff. I don't think I sat down from the time I woke up until about now, but it was really fun. I made my very first cake (I know it sounds funny, but we just never eat cake and it's usually brownies or cookies or some other type of dessert, not cake) and you can't laugh at the pictures. I don't pretend to be a great baker or dessert decorator. But I had fun, and I realized that I made the top of the cake match the little candle I had for Jeff, which I didn't even mean to do but was pleasantly surprised that I happened to do. :) It worked out ok, it tasted good anyway.

We had burgers, roasted garlic with brie and pugliese, guac and chips, fruit (strawberries and blueberries with CHOCOLATE pieces, thanks Staci!), a great pear walnut and cheese salad (thanks Emily!), corn on the cobb, and then cake and ice cream. It was a good time and good food. There were about 15 people in attendance. Jeff got some really nice presents including a fun piggy bank, a mini basketball hoop, a book, some animal foam things for the tub, a great Nike track suit, a personalized quilt that Emily made herself, and some fun photo coasters. Jeff had a fun time mainly throwing rocks and leaves outside, and while he ate his cake, he got tired and started rubbing his eyes, which is where this photo comes in. :)

He actually ate his cake very well and didn't make much of a mess at all until the rubbing of the eyes started. Then the cameras started flashing. :)

Here's us opening his presents, it was cute how much attention he gave the cards, probably because he loves books, and also because he thinks every card is going to be like the Old MacDonald card. :)