10 Things I Did For My Birthday + Turning 38

I’ve finally had a chance to sit down with some calming music, Baby asleep near my feet and attached to his feeding pump so I can reflect and write about the past week.

We’ve been celebrating my birthday since Friday! I had so many ideas on how I wanted to spend my birthday, and my plan was to take the family to the lake with a kayak or a raft and have a picnic in the afternoon. We had to pivot. If you asked me on Friday, I would have said:

So far turning 38 is not having enough cash on you to enter, bringing a raft but nothing to inflate it with, showing up too early for the pool to open, waiting for the longest trailer in the world to park in the middle of the road, and driving around for 3 hours without going anywhere. 🤣 🤣 🤣

We chalked it up to “you live, you learn,” which is totally fitting for a birthday haha.

Family Water Fun

A trip to In N’ Out Burger indulging in my own serving of fries and a shake remedied everything. I think we’ll eventually take our family to the lake, but we decided to spend the day at the pool instead.

I felt like a Big Kid again when Jer took the Baby and made me go with the older kids for rides. We rode the waterslides, raced on an inflatable obstacle course, and cheered each other jumping off cliff edges. I almost chickened out, it was so scary to be facing a wall of water from so high up!

We eventually met up with Jer and Baby Henry flowing along in the lazy river. Fletcher was so brave trying out the rock climbing wall that was over a deep pool of water. Lily shepherded her brothers when I needed to start the baby’s feed. Walker found his favorite slide, and all the kids got to enjoy riding down a few more times before we left. Jer spent most of his time in the fountains and splash park with our Little One, who had plenty of his own little water slides and water toys to explore.

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I decided to try to have a day filled with things that bring me joy.

10 Things I Did For My Birthday!

#1. Sunrise Hike

Went with my favorite person to one of my favorite places. My Sweetheart helped me to wake up early to hike in our canyon and see the sun rise. Greeting a new age with fresh air and nature felt empowering. Lately we’ve been running in the canyon in the mornings, but today I wanted to take it a little slower and enjoy the scenery.

#2. Birthday Breakfast Crepes

This is a birthday tradition from before Jer and I married, and I have loved it every year. He’s basically perfected the recipe, which he says he adds a little bit of ____ and sugar to. They turned out wonderfully silky, thin, and absolutely delicious. We filled them with whipped topping, strawberries, and peaches.

#3. Surprise from my Sister!

My sister texted me on the way to the afternoon birthday activity asking about my plans for the day, and when I replied she gasped and said, “What a big day! Wish I could be part of it…” Jer had uncharacteristically stopped off at a gas station to pick up some candy, which I thought nothing of because what this man buys randomly is his business. I was still thinking of how to respond to my sister’s message when all of a sudden he turned the car and there she was??!!! Standing in the parking lot! The kids went wild in the back, and I was so happy at how fun this was and that she could be a part of plans today haha! She and Jer patted themselves on the back for orchestrating such a great surprise for me. They were so sneaky and I had no idea!!

#4. Peach Tree

We checked out some beautiful plants at the local garden center, and chose a Gleason Early Elberta peach tree to take home and plant. Historically it’s done well in our area, though it may not produce fruit large enough to eat for another 3 or so years. We have wanted a peach tree in our yard for almost 6 years. Although we’ve brought home several trees in that time, we never planted them! They eventually died slowly and rotted away, and I felt like I needed a break before trying again.

I was so proud of Jeremy who took initiative and determined that even in the hottest time of the day he was going to plant the tree immediately when we got home. I helped him dig the hole, mix the soil with the mulch, and lug the extra soil elsewhere. We named the tree “Bertie”, which is short for Elberta to help me remember what kind of tree it is! I’m so happy that this might be the start of turning our black thumbs around, and the beginning of a garden we’ve been dreaming of.

After Lily said the dinner prayer, Jer told all of us, “Now remember kids, plants come to this home to die—so we’re going to need to pray for that tree every day for the next 3 years…” 😅 I mean, he’s not wrong.

#5. Nap Time

You know when you fall asleep without realizing how tired you are, and wake up ready to go and do stuff? I held the baby on my bed during a tube feeding and we both passed out in peace and quiet for a little bit. It was just the right amount to be enjoyable.

#6. Yoga

Let’s be real. My body is oof—it’s all over the place, or maybe I’m going into perimenopause and my insides feel like they’re going to fall out if I’m not consciously holding them up. My internet searches have told me that pelvic and core exercises may help, and to look for something gentle, so yoga seemed to be just the thing. My sister found some videos and I got to do them with my kids.

#7. Paninis

For a previous birthday I requested a panini maker, and it’s kind of falling apart. I’ve been super indecisive about what I want to have for my birthday dinner, and Jer remembered how much I loved those paninis so he decided to make them for me—but using his grill pan and a heavy lid as a grill iron. He went all out with the fixings, including sprouts, fancy cheese and meat, avocado, tomato, all on a fresh specialty ciabatta bread. The sandwiches turned out so amazing!

#8. Soccer Games

The boys had their first soccer games today, both at the same times on opposite sides of the field. I wanted to support them and got to see them in action while enjoying the pre-rain.

#9. Gelata

We stopped off in Springville for some Italian ice with custard, and apparently everyone and their Mom had the same idea. An entire girls tennis team showed up. The outdoor patio was full of people, and the drive in line was snaking around into the adjacent parking lot. Since my sister’s train was a little time sensitive we weren’t sure if there would be enough time but we made it! Living life on the edge here.

#10. Late Night Visit

Our best friends live only a few minutes from the train station, and had wanted us to stop by to pick up Lily’s belated birthday gift, so I called them up to see if we could do that since it was so late at night already. But of course, time flies when you’re having fun and we have so much fun with the Dunns. A 5 minute pickup led to, “What gift did you get? Shall we open it in front of the kids?” which led to, “I’m going to check out their peach tree,” and “Honey, Rob wants to show me the deck.”

I think an hour passed and we could have easily stayed another hour if the baby wasn’t absolutely ready to go home. Poor Jer had burnt out and basically collapsed after we pulled into the driveway, so I got everything ready for the overnight feed, bathed an overtired Baby Henry, and got him into pjs and all set up for bed. Jer was able to hold him in the rocking chair and the baby slept peacefully on his chest while being tube fed.

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Birthday Interview