no. 26: livin' it up!

The past two weeks have been a birthday extravaganza! I'm not one to make a big deal out of birthdays, but Natalie's birthday is an exception. Her birthday is probably the day of the year she looks forward to with the most anticipation, so I've learned to make it a special day for her. And this year was the big 21. That means it was an even bigger deal.

We began her birthday with opening presents at the house. Then we rode our bikes to Natalie's favorite restaurant for brunch. Bleu, a local gourmet restaurant, has the best brunch menu in town. We made happy noises as we slowly savored our biscuits & gravy, eggs benedict, and cold salmon lox. And to top it off, Natalie ordered her first drink: a mimosa.

And no birthday is complete without ice cream or cake. We went with ice cream--from our favorite local ice cream shop, Sparky's. Natalie even got a free birthday scoop.

But the celebration didn't stop there.

I planned a party for the following Saturday so that we could celebrate with our friends. It was a blast. We held the party at a park nearby, complete with a grill and fire pit. 

We grilled grass-fed beef hamburgers, ate delicious side dishes that others brought, and roasted marshmallows for s'mores.

 We also enjoyed local beer with our burgers, a perfect drink for the warmer weather.

We were impressed by how many people came, and from so many different circles of our lives. We are blessed to have found such a loving community here.

Our weekend was near perfect with delicious food, good people & beautiful weather. Now we're finding it difficult to get back into the groove of everyday life. 

Perhaps every day should be like this weekend?

-Luke + natalie