happy bird-day matthew.

so last thursday i surprised my sweet husband with a birthday weekend get-away to my grandparents' cabin. i'd been planning this celebration for over a month so i was so anxious to tell him. he was elated. he loves birthdays.

one of the most hilarious parts of the whole weekend was our pre-shopping trip. i told matt he could buy anything he wanted to eat for that weekend (and he likes to eat some pretty weird things folks). it was really good for me to relinquish all control.

matt was a kid in a candy-store. almost literally. he went up and down the isles, choosing the most sugary, fat-filled items you can imagine. we bought things we had never bought before and will probably never buy again in the future. but that's what birthdays are about, right?

...UP AT THE CABIN.

jordan and jessica + pierre and ashley + matt and a VERY scared christine = some fun ATVing action. we went on some ridiculous off-road trails. and by ridiculous i mean extremely dangerous. but it was good, good fun. we came back raunchy as ever with dirt in our teeth (cute) and matted hair. but it was more than worth it i would say.

matt and i played and sung together just like the olden days. it felt so good. his ability to play the exact notes i heard in my head was what first sparked my feelings for him. and, a year later, it still has the same affect.

BOHNANZA! this game has become a new family favorite. we taught Pierre, Jordan, and Jessica how to play, and now they too are obsessed. Pierre and i tied for last place. awesome.

ahhhh.... relaxation. it was so nice to just do nothing. we spent a few hours straight just talking about all sorts of interesting topics:
-what color are you? (the color code by dr. hartman)
-what stresses you out the most?
-what's your favorite cereal?
-if you had $10,000 that you HAD to spend within a few weeks, what would you do with it?

here's the bird-day boy. his "on-the-ball" wife forgot candles so we had him blow out one lowly match (if you can see it).

man, he's cuuuuuuuuuuuute.

looooooooooooook at those marshmallows! we found those guys at walmart and HAD to have them. they were divine, but oh so sticky.

there's the group. minus me of course. we so loved having everyone come up and celebrate matt's birthday. he felt really loved. and cj was a real sport for coming up to hang out with a group full of lovey-dovey couples. what a champion.


SUUUUUUUUUNDAY.
we did nothing besides stick pillows up our clothes (and go to church of course).

poor martha was trying to read while matt and i acted like 4 year olds. but it was too much fun.