Hey, look at me! I turned 34!

My birthday was (and ever will be) the 3rd of September. This year it fell on Labor Day.

Ryan had to work from 9-5 that day. I decided to treat myself to sleeping in, which is a rare opportunity these days. I awoke to the hushed voices of Cora and Oliver, who had kindly fixed me some breakfast and were in the process of delivering it to me in bed. I'm sure Jane would have loved to help, but she wouldn't get up. Bless her dear heart . . .

My breakfast: Cereal, half a Costco muffin, 2 pieces of toast, a fruit leather, and a cup of water. I happily ate it all.

It looks like I'd been bedridden for weeks, not yet strong enough to lift my food to my face.

Mmmmmm, freshly poured water!

   

 

After I savored my breakfast, I got some treasured cuddle time with Oliver. I LOVE that he willingly lets me snuggle him.

I lazily faded in and out of sleep for about an hour while Jane and Cora cleaned and organized my bathroom. I didn't even ask them to. =)

I can't really remember what happened during the afternoon, but when Ryan got home we all went out to eat. My one birthday request was to not have to make dinner.

When we returned home, I opened some presents.

A nice, durable cutting board!

A cute BSU hat and a set of nifty vegetable peelers!

A sleek slotted spoon!

And a beautiful granite slab to put on our kitchen counter. The perfect surface for me to roll out my cookie dough!

Hooray for birthdays! Hooray for happy children!

Cards from loved ones. They all know a thing or two about me, heehee.

Erin made me this splendid set of hair clippies! I love them!

Megan gave me these cool glasses.

They have signatures on the backs.

My good friend Aubrey (who I met in high school and happens to be in our ward now) brought me a cute box of taffy and a magnet that says "All you need is love".  Yup, I couldn't agree more. Love is all we need- everything else is just a bonus.

The ol' birthday turned out well. I got oodles of facebook greetings, a fun phone call from Renee, a nice time with the fam, a few texts from pals who remembered my special day without facebook's help, and just an all around feeling of grateful reflection on another year down the drain, I mean, behind me. ;)

The festivities extended for about another week as varied friends and family found their way to my heart through toothsome food. I met Maria at Kneaders for chunky cinnamon french toast the morning of the 4th, where Maria gave me the Beatles birthday card with a thoughtful Franz Witte (garden center) gift card. (How did she ever know I like flowers and plants?) Later that day my visiting teachers, their kids, Oliver and I met at Kleiner Park to chat and let the kids play. One of the ladies shared yummy homemade cupcakes as a kind birthday gesture. My parents took Ryan and me to dinner on the 6th, Melissa and Marsha treated me to lunch at Applebee's on the 11th, and my friend Cheryl spoiled me with a delicious lunch at The Creperie on the 12th. My tummy and I deeply appreciated it all!

Only 11 months until my next birthday, so get prepared.  ;)