birthday

I had an absolutely wonderful birthday today!

Last night, I told Katelyn that it would be my birthday and suggested that she should maybe think about sleeping in.  Instead, she woke up an hour earlier and only took a half hour nap.  I'm pretty sure she was just really excited for my birthday and couldn't wait to see me.

look at her first little ponytail!

My grandparents took me out for lunch at Fuzzy's Taco Shop.  We had a great time eating fish tacos and drinking Diet Cokes.  My grandparents gave me my first gift of the day - Schleich animals!  I was so happy, I just about jumped across the table.

here are my new animal friends gathered around a queso watering hole.

 (Don't worry.  I will introduce you to the Schleich animal menagerie in an upcoming blog post.  Be very excited...)

Next, we all drove over to GiGi's cupcakes for some delicious dessert.  The best thing about GiGi's cupcakes is the cake to frosting ratio.  In my opinion, the best cupcake is frosting with a bit of cake on the side.

The wedding cake is always a classic but the Millionaire was amazing.  It was a caramel cupcake with caramel frosting and pecans with a chocolate ganache topping.  On account of my birthday, Baby Kate got to try frosting and well, I will let you guess how she liked it.

she loved it

After that sugar rush, we all went home to take a little nap.  Kate and I snoozed on the couch and then read books and watched Food Network.

When D and my dad got home, we went out again for my birthday dinner.  If you are a serious foodie, look away for the next part...  We went to the Olive Garden because I love the Olive Garden!!!  There has never been a time that I went to the Olive Garden and then later wished I had gone somewhere else.  Earlier this year, when that poor small town food writer was criticized for raving about the Olive Garden, I secretly supported her.  So there.

Then it was back home for presents (which included more Schleich animals!) and cake.  And again, my foodie friends, avert your eyes because I think that the best cake in the world is from Target!  The white cake at Target is made with almond extract and it is delicious!

D gave me a great gift - a gift card just for drinks!  Does he know me well?  Katelyn got me a gift card for a pedicure although I think her dad had a part in that. ;)

I had a really great day and I'm so grateful for such wonderful family and friends who made my birthday so special.