My birthday (the big 24) was yesterday. Now that my school years are behind me, birthdays are great. There is no chance of me spending my birthday studying, taking standardized tests, or writing long lab reports. If it’s a work day (like last year), I can take half a day off work. But yesterday was the best of all – a birthday on a Saturday? Yes please.
The weekend started off with dinner at my parents’ on Friday night. We always have chicken and dumplings for my birthday (my favorite) and some sort of fall dessert. This year? German chocolate cheesecake. 🙂 Kevin and I celebrated with my parents and aunt, and I somehow managed to predict half of my presents — but it’s pretty easy when you’ve asked for a chocolate orange every year since 1999. Among the blessings were a bluray player, Fitz’s coffee cola (yes please), and a few additions to my kitchen. My apartment is finally complete!
In some parts of the country (e.g. Seattle) a late September birthday could be depressing, as summer fades away. But in St. Louis, a late September birthday guarantees perfect weather 95% of the time – sunshine, 70-85 degrees, and no shortage of outdoor activities. Kevin surprised me with Einstein’s bagels and a sweet card on Saturday morning, before we headed over to Eckert’s in Millstadt for apple picking. The apples were delicious, the pumpkins flew (from the pumpkin cannon), and the pigs ran (in pig races, of course). And I got a little white pumpkin, to decorate my apartment for Halloween / Thanksgiving. 🙂
After a successful morning of Midwestern fun, we drove back to my place, where I opened my birthday present. Though I knew about this ahead of time (we selected it while at Disney World last month), I was so excited to finally have something from my favorite Disney movie. Just hung it up this afternoon — the perfect addition to my apartment!
photo credit: Kevin
After a simple lunch at my place, we relaxed for a bit and then headed to 5:00 mass at the Basilica, since we anticipated a late night ahead. I hadn’t been to the Basilica since a field trip in third grade, so it was definitely interesting to see it all again.
Kevin surprised me with dinner at Giovanni’s on the Hill, a nice Italian restaurant that created dishes for Oprah Winfrey’s TV show, Ronald Reagan’s inauguration, and also has a dish named after George W. Bush. I obviously had the farfelline del presidente Reagan (shocking). We were seated in the middle of the restaurant, and was surprised by a special birthday dessert!
photo credit to Kevin
The evening ended with a party hosted by one of Kevin’s friends, which was a lot of fun.
All in all, this was probably the most wonderful birthday I’ve ever had. It was a long day full of magical memories and happy moments, all spent with my favorite person 🙂 23 brought some amazing things, and I can’t wait to see what 24 has in store!
Kate
Planes & Pink 