Birthday Extraveganza

So my birthdays the last few years have been less than exciting. Whether it was being in the hospital, driving across the state, or Jordan working at the Homecoming football game, my birthday took the back seat. This year, on the other hand, was a different story!

Where to begin... it started with Jordan taking me to Build-A-Bear Workshop the week before my birthday. It was a TOTAL surprise but so fun! Anyone who knows me, knows that I love a cute stuffed animal... and I might have a few around our house... We built this guy.. His name is Charlie.. I think he looks a little like Jordan... especially when holding a PBR :)
 

The next awesome part of my birthday, was this old door. Yes, an old door. I have been OBSESSED with Lily and Marshall's headboard on "How I Met Your Mother" for a LONG time. So I pretty much begged for a replica for my birthday. Since we couldn't find the exact thing, we decided to recreate it ourselves. Hence, the door. I am REALLY excited to see how this turns out and will post the progress as we go.

Part 3 of my awesome birthday, was the long weekend to Chicago with my family. Since we moved to Indiana, we don't get to see them as often so when my mom suggested the family weekend, I was all in! They were getting in on Saturday morning so we came in on Friday and did dinner with Rich and Meredith. It was really nice to catch up with some friends from Iowa. Mer and I even got to go for a coffee date. This was a pretty big deal since she will be a mommy in a few short months. So exciting!

Once my family got to town, we met at my aunt and uncle's house for lunch. We had some YUMMY Italian Beef sandwiches and then headed downtown. I really wanted to do touristy things since we rarely do that kind of thing when we visit. We spent some time on Michigan Ave and took some photos by the Bean. It was awesome, dorky, and SOOOOOOO fun! Thank you to my fam for appeasing me!

Later that night we checked in to the big debate... no, not a presidential candidate debate... the John Stewart/Bill O'Rielly Debate... sooooo funny... in my family that sort of thing cannot be missed... luckily the good guy won.. and we could go to dinner happy... We ended the night with dinner and drinks at Duck Fat in Oak Park. Yum Yum Yum. It was a local brewery in Oak Park that uses duck fat to fry their food. It sounds strange but it was surprisingly delightful. To make the night even better, my Uncle Jim joined us. I loved having so much family around! It is one of the best parts of doing things in Chicago...

After a fun day in Chicago, we were all ready to head home on Sunday. We stayed long enough to see my Aunt Peg and her family & have some angel food cake. In my family, no birthday is complete without an angel food cake. So much so that, for most of my childhood, we all had 2 birthday cakes. The one my mom made or bought and the angel food cake my grandma would make.

Overall, it was a great weekend. I got to see my best friend and her husband, my parents, my brother and his girl friend, and several other members of the family. I am one lucky girl and could not have asked for a better birthday!