David's Surprise Birthday Party

Hello everyone!

It's been awhile, but I wanted to stop by because summer break has started, and more importantly, it was David's birthday yesterday!

Since it was his big 30th birthday, I wanted to do something special for him and throw him a surprise birthday party!  I asked everyone to come at 6:30 with the plan to pick David up from work and bring him home around 7, but the plan almost fell completely apart.  At 6, David called me and said that he already left work and was walking home instead of waiting for me to pick him up from work.  It takes about half an hour to walk from his work to our place, so I panicked a little bit, and texted everyone to come ASAP.  Thankfully, we have amazing friends who ran over as fast as they could (one even ran out of the shower to get here on time  haha) and we were able to assemble before he got here!

SURPRISE!!  =)

It was a little stressful towards the end because everything had to be done super quickly(thanks dear...), but it was also fun to set everything up.  Initially I was going to use plastic cups, but when I ran into these cute little milk jars, and couldn't pass them up!  I think they ended up being only a little more expensive, and I thought it added a cute touch =)

the first wave of friends as we waited for David

The birthday cake!

I didn't really have a theme in mind, but somehow, the theme became green/blue as I was assembling the spread, and there happened to be a perfect cake that matched the theme!  It was a green tea/blueberry cake, and it was absolutely delicious!

such beautiful peeps =)

After the food, we got together for some friendly competitive round of Taboo and other board games  ;)  We could have gone easy on the birthday boy, but that's just not how we work around here =p  haha

After a round or two, I presented David with the last part of his birthday presents  =)  

We had all of these amazing pictures taken with Kate last year, but we had never printed any of them!  It was a good chance to get one blown up so that he could hang it wherever he wanted in our home =)

Happiest of birthdays, my dearest David.  Hope your 30th year will be the best yet  =D

Thanks for stopping by!

--Janny

Late 20's

Hello everyone,

A few days ago, I crossed over to the late part of the 20's...  I have never really had a birthday where I felt significantly different-after all, only one day separates the 'aging' milestone called 'birthday' from the previous year. However, 26 feels very different because now, I am off of my parents' health insurance plan.  I know, very exciting eh?  It's not that I have achieved anything more significant or that I feel emotionally more mature, but it's that I'm getting kicked off of free medical insurance...   But it is a big deal because now, legally, I am no longer dependent on my parents for anything.  And it feels like I am an actual adult.  

How does it feel to be an adult? honestly, for the few days leading up to my birthday, it was not the best feeling  haha.  I think that was mostly because I had to spend a few frustrating days wrestling with getting health insurance for myself and the mountain of paperwork that comes with it.  le sigh... I still have to do more paperwork, but hopefully it will come together?

However, the birthday itself was pretty darn wonderful.  =)

I spent it with my Garth Newel family, just like last year!

The thing about spending your birthday at a music festival is that there is never a shortage of amazing 'Happy Birthday Song'. Forget the out of tune birthday serenades we usually get; at Garth Newel, the song is accompanied by a harmonium, and it's in about 7 part harmony!

My beloved Timbo also baked me a carrot cake, which is a tradition that Abers and Timbo (the Meadowlark Trio) began last year, and he really outdid himself!  =) 

Sorry, I forgot to take a photo before the candle was taken out  haha

Everyone loved it, and it was seriously gone in a minute!

Being the grandma that I am, I would have been just as happy to stay in, play board games, and chill out, but my Garth Newel fam was convinced that we should do something special for my birthday, so we went exploring the beautiful mountains of Virginia!  =)

with all my favs!

We were looking for a waterfall, following directions from Robbie who guided us last year to a different waterfall.  However, we were going downstream on the path, and we figured we should be going upstream for a waterfall...

So we aborted mission and played in the stream instead!

While we were still in the water, we heard thunder, which made us scramble out of the water pretty quickly.

However, once we were out, we couldn't stop thinking about this alleged waterfall that was supposed to be incredibly beautiful.

So we hopped in the car and decided to drive upstream a little more to see if we could find it.  We drove for awhile, but the waters were too calm for any real waterfall to show, so we gave up, and settled on this place instead!

It turned out to be the perfect place actually!  It was beautiful, it had fossils! (Sam's precious..) 

and it also had a Timbo mermaid.  I mean.... the view doesn't get much better, right?  haha

Despite the thunder, the rain held off for awhile, leaving us with ample time to splash around!

My favorite SAM!!

With my Garth Newel Debussy Quartet  =)   

Gotta love our awkward prom pose haha

and some mad bromance

and this cutie pie  =)

It was such a wonderful day, and I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such fun, loving, and awesome people  =)

To top it all off, I received a letter and a package from the best fiance ever!  He completely surprised me out of the blue with a gift that was so unexpected and sweet, and I feel so lucky to have him in my life  =)

Thank you everyone who took time to message me, call me, and text me wishing me a happy birthday-my heart was so full all day with the outpouring of love, and I am so thankful and blessed!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful day!

--Janny

David's Birthday :: Houston Trip!

Hello everyone,

Last weekend was quite the weekend!  Not only did Phoenix have its last performance of the season (Flight), it was also David's graduation and birthday weekend!  I know, the weekend could not have been more packed.  

Sadly, David's graduation and Phoenix Flight happened on the same day, so I couldn't be in Houston for his graduation, but I booked it home after the concert, packed, and got on a flight to Houston a few hours later for David's birthday!  --giving that whole life/work balance a go over here  hah!

His birthday began with a pretty darn spectacular sunrise in Boston ;)  

the only (and I truly mean the only) perk of being awake at this hour, in my opinion... haha

I definitely went to sleep freezing my butt off on the plane, but a few hours later, I woke up to unbelievable heat and humidity.  Oh Houston... thank you for welcoming me back with everything you had to offer...  but all that was soon forgotten as I met up with my birthday boy and the rest of the S clan!  

Jack and their Dad had made it out to Houston for David's graduation, and I was so glad to see them! 

Dad was flying out soon after, so we grabbed a quick bite to eat and shared some birthday cupcakes while enjoying the short amount of time that we had together. 

Though I had met David's dad and brother individually, I had never seen them all together like this before.  It's hard to put into words, but there was something really heart-warming about seeing them reunited, interacting and spending time together like this   =)  

                                                                <----                                            <----  The evolution of David?  hehe

As soon as Dad left, the kids went wild.




haha.

As wild as the couple that chooses baking over drinking gets  =p   

I hear that Houston actually has a pretty great bar scene, but poor Jack never got to experience that because he had us grandparents as his tour guide  haha  Amulet did drag me to one bar (Flying Saucer) during our roomy era, so we did bring Jack there during his visit!  

Oh, but we definitely had the best BBQ we've ever had!  We may not drink much, but if you've followed this blog for awhile, you know that food is definitely our thing! And of all of the BBQ we've ever had, this is the best.  Ray's BBQ is in a gas station, the inside is quite cramped, and the table we got was literally spinning off of the base, but none of that mattered as soon as we tasted the food.

Oh... My... Goodness...  seriously, the juiciest BBQ we have ever had!  

If you live in Houston, you have to go try it!  and all of the many students (ahem, Rice!!) about to move away to a new city, you will seriously regret it if you leave without trying this place!

Having stuffed ourselves, we took a stroll around the Hermann park.  I was kind of shocked to find this part of the park (some sort of a garden) because I don't think it was here when I was at Rice..?   It'd be really sad if it was there all along and I never knew!

The big bro and the baby bro.

David and I have been engaged for awhile now, and we knew that we wanted to be together long-term waayy before we even got engaged.  However, the fact that we are getting married has just begun to feel real, and I think it's because we've gotten to spend more time with both sides of the family (mine in Charleston and his here) in the past couple of weeks.  (and maybe because mommy calls daily asking about the non-existent wedding details...)

For me, marriage isn't just about the couple; it's about two families becoming one.  So when families came into the picture a little more, our upcoming marriage seemed more real to me.  I grew up in a big, loud, and very tight-knit family on both sides, and I've always known that I wanted to continue that tradition as I added my own to the mix.  Family is everything to me; they're there to lend a hand when it is needed, to hold you accountable for your actions, to argue with you, to laugh at/with you, and to share the joys and the sorrows of life. I can't imagine not having that giant support group as you move through different phases of life.

Having such a big family that likes being in everyone else's business has its pros and cons, and one of the cons was that whoever I decided to marry had to have approval from all of the 50+ family members. My aunts and uncles have always joked that their nephews and nieces will never be able to find anyone to marry because it would be impossible to find someone who could pass the family test haha  so when David survived meeting all 50+ of them in Korea, I knew he was a keeper  ;)  haha 

We are both pretty excited to be gaining another set of parents, and another brother each. (and alllll of the extended families.. hah) David was the baby of the family, so he's really liking being a big bro to Peter, and I'm pretty stoked to be getting an older brother myself!  I was an only child for 5 years, and for as long as I can remember, I've always asked my parents for an older brother. I ended up getting a younger brother, which I guess is the next best situation (I love you baby bro! haha). I've also always had many older cousins who filled that older brother role, but now I'm getting a real big brother!  =D 

David and I were discussing our thoughts on this matter, and David told me that girls are very rare in his family, so getting a sister may be a whole new adventure for Jack.  But I'd say he's a natural ;) He already grudgingly endures the many photo shoots coming his way like a seasoned pro  =p  haha

It was a really wonderful day celebrating David's birthday, hanging out and getting to know the family a bit better, and exploring different parts of Houston!  

If you have noticed that the pictures look a little bit different in quality, it's because David got me an early birthday present--a new portrait lens!!  It has a bit of a learning curve, but I am loving the quality of the photos so far.  I'll be back with a new post soon trying out the new lens during the last of our Houston explorations  =)

Have a wonderful weekend, and thanks for stopping by!

--Janny