Dallas' Birthday

Tonight makes almost a full month since October 12, 2014 - which was Dallas' birthday! This was the third time I got to spend a birthday with Dallas and I have loved every one of them! ...Hopefully he has too.

The first October 12 I enjoyed with Dallas was back in 2012. We had known each other for about 6 weeks and, due to the 6 hour drive separating us, we had probably only "seen" each other 3 times. I felt I was constantly thinking up reasons to visit him...and his birthday seemed a perfect excuse! Lucky for me, his birthday fell on a Friday that year, meaning I didn't have to skip work to arrive on his birthday. Unfortunately, the drive was long and the traffic was heavy... meaning we didn't get there til the last hour or two of his birthday. Dallas didn't seem to care though - he was so happy to see us and we (Amanda Bush and I) were so happy to see him! That night we didn't get in much of the birthday festivities, except Dallas and I did get to go on a nice little walk. :) 

I know it may not sound like much of a birthday, BUT! The next day, we woke up and Dallas made us a delicious breakfast. During breakfast we shared some thoughts from his mom. I had called her a few weeks earlier to find out about Dallas' birth story and things they loved about him. It was sweet - I remember her saying he was born "with a twinkle in his eye" and they named him Dallas because it sounded "rough and tough." After breakfast, Dallas had to go to a laser/optics conference. That was actually perfect because it gave Amanda and I time to make preparations for the rest of the birthday festivities. Amanda tied together a fleece robot blanket and I made a stuffed pepper dinner (one of Dallas' favorite dinners). When he got home we enjoyed the dinner and gifted him his new robot blanket. After that, we all got dressed up super nice and headed to Dallas' concert! We took the bus and just barely made it on time. Dallas did a fabulous job and I was so glad to be there. Afterward, I don't remember what we did...probably ate angel food cake or something else yummy. 

The second October 12 I was lucky enough to be MARRIED to Dallas! This birthday involved a LOT of math. It was the Saturday before Dallas took the Math GRE. Therefore, his greatest birthday wish was to have plenty of time to study. SO! I woke up early that morning and got stuff for breakfast - biscuits and sausage and gravy, orange juice, eggs, and probably some fruit. After our delicious breakfast, Dallas got right to work studying. This worked out nicely because I had not yet bought him a gift. Lucky for me, amazon.com had some excellent gifts and I signed up for the free amazon prime trial so that we could get it super quick. I bought him two games - two Killer Bunnies additions and Spot It. After an exorbitant amount of studying, we went shopping - looking for some running shoes and other things that I needed Dallas with me to get. I think we found the running shoes...but nothing else (mittens, jeans, etc.) However, the amazon gifts I had bought that morning were on the doorstop by the time we got home from shopping! That was a birthday miracle. 

After that, we hustled home and changed into some fancy clothes. I had reserved a spot for us at a special restaurant. It was a fancy, old-timey house in Columbia that had been fixed up to be a restaurant. We got there and realized the prices were extremely high. No worries though - we decided to get an appetizer and main course and share them and then go use a gift card we had at cold stone to enjoy a yummy treat. Truthfully, neither of us were super impressed with the food, especially for the price, but it was a fun atmosphere and something different. And Cold Stone was, of course, delicious. I enjoyed it all - but that's always easy when Dallas is there. :) 

Ah! And the following Monday we attempted a surprise birthday party with some of our friends. Unfortunately I was a little late leaving the house...so the surprise kind of collapsed. But! It was still fun to spend time with our friends and enjoy some angel food cake with them.

THIS October 12 fell on a Sunday. For this birthday we had a bit of pre and post birthday celebrations...which I suppose all have had a bit of that. For example, on Saturday Dallas had a frisbee game and we decided since it was his last day of being 27, we could go out to eat. I found a coupon for Outback Steakhouse, so we went there. We also found some great tennis shoes (thanks to his Mom) and he was so pleased. His previous ones had long since perished and he was in desperate need of a new pair. 




On Sunday, Dallas once again had lots of math to study. He woke up early and got right to work studying while I made some breakfast burritos. Afterward, Dallas went back to work while I wrapped up his presents and wrote a little note of "28 things I love about Dallas." It didn't take long to think of 28 things...but I did have to re-write the note so that he would be able to read it. :) Then I came and got Dallas and we opened his gifts...just in time to hurry and get ready for church. 

After church, we went to Dallas' grandma's where we enjoyed a yummy dinner of pot roast and potatoes and all sorts of other deliciousness. The most miraculous part of the evening was that Grandma made an angel food cake for Dallas - that is his favorite! And she didn't know it! Pure inspiration. :)  The next day I made Dallas something great for dinner... probably stir fry. Afterwards, we invited some friends and played our new game "Resistance" and ate lots of cheesecake (Emily Eden helped me make it). It was a terrific birthday and I'm already looking forward to his next one, especially since baby will be here to enjoy it with him!