Birthday Boy

Okay, the post is belated, but I'm happy to say that the celebration was not. :) Saturday marked the 39th anniversary of Steve's birth. I have to say that I'm rather deficient in the area of planning birthday celebrations, or most any kind of celebration, for that matter. There's good reasons for that, but I'll not go into that right now. Father's Day was a non-event in our house due to a brand new baby. I told Steve that a brand-spanking new baby was his Father's Day present, and it was; she arrived 6 days prior, so I was up and about but certainly not party planning yet. However, I didn't think I'd get away with the same reasoning for his birthday. ;) Sooooo...what to do?? The boy is not easy to buy for. If he wants it, believes it's a valid purchase, and there's money for it, he gets it; I rarely am able to buy something for him that he really and truly likes that he wouldn't splurge for himself. Trust me; I've tried and failed. I enlisted the children's help. Alyssa's response: "Hmmm...he really loves computers, but he already has one of those!" No, I did not plant this response; she came up with it on her own.

Time was drawing nigh, and I just didn't know what to do. And then...a brilliant idea came upon me. I would just plan a day together. Steve loves to spend time together as a family, but he prefers to go out & "do" things as opposed to just lazing around together, although the "doing" should involve little to no money for maximum pleasure. ;) And here's the other crazy bit, although he loves to plan vacations, he really isn't into planning family night activities, date nights, or any of those little but equally important times that fit into the category of "quality time" together. With this in mind, the girls and I concocted a plan. We would pack a picnic lunch, get out the door early, and go to Wagon Wheel Park in Coppell for some hot Texas hiking. Although someone had clued me in that there are hiking trails at this park, I could honestly find no info online about this place, other than the address. Nonetheless, we had a plan. And, we remembered that the boy likes ice cream, actually I'm not sure there's a strong enough word to describe how he feels about ice cream. :) So, we did buy something that he doesn't often splurge on but has a great fondness for...Starbucks Java Chip ice cream...his two loves rolled into one - coffee and ice cream!

The day arrived, and the girls were good about not divulging details. They told him he needed to don shorts, t-shirt, and tennis shoes, and off we went. And we did have a great time together. In fact, Alyssa had been counting down for Steve's birthday as if it were her own. She was as excited or even more so about the events for the day. There was much sweat involved, although it was honestly quite pleasant in the shade. We saw a little wildlife - a chameleon that changed color before our eyes. And we just enjoyed each other's company. And I rejoiced in the fact that I could walk and talk without feeling short of breath; I think I was short of breath almost the entire pregnancy with Genna. Seriously, it started shortly after I found out I was pregnant, and it didn't get any better as she consumed more space. Fabulous hiking trip, all in all, ended after Genna pooped, and then pooped again, and I was out of diapers...she's a super-pooper!

We made haste to return home for a good scrub in the tub to lessen the chances of chiggers and poison ivy, followed by afternoon naps, ice cream and an attempt to go Babe's in Roanoke. Too late though...the wait was too long, so off we went to Southlake, ended up at Mi Chula's as Genna had a sudden urge to be DONE with the car, and finally to the summer concert in the town square. It might not have been spectacular, but based on the smile on his face, Steve enjoyed his birthday. :) Happy Birthday, Honey!!! May there be many, many more....