28

Hey all, and Happy Fall!!!

As you may know, I turned 28 at the beginning of this week.  (Fun fact: this also meant, as my mom reminded me, my birthday fell on the same day of the week that I was actually born.)

I don't think I've admitted this super-publicly, but recently, I've been forgetting how old I am.  For real.  I felt so silly when I had to do the math a couple times over one night when I was explaining to Bryant about forgetting my age earlier in the day.  I don't know what the deal is...and while trying to figure it out, it has occurred to me that the ages between 25 and 30 (or maybe 29) seem to get smushed together.  They're just kind-of there...as placeholders after the 25 milestone...while you wait to turn 29 so you can prepare to enter into your 30's.  Can anyone relate?  Maybe this is just a way for me to justify the fact that I legitimately thought I was 28 for a time during my 27th year.  Ha.

Anyway, I thought I'd share a bit about how I rang in Year 28:

As you also may know, I've signed up for approx. 52,873 birthday/rewards clubs...which means I receive approx. 52,873 e-mails with special birthday offers in the weeks surrounding my birthday.  You'd better believe I capitalize on as many of those as possible...esp. the "no purchase required" ones!  (And you should, too!)  So, birthday festivities began well in advance of the actual day with this gem:

The night before my birthday, my sweet husband organized a surprise birthday dinner!  I was under the impression just he and I would be enjoying supper "out," but when we got to the restaurant, I was greeted by these sweet people!

There was even a complimentary birthday dessert!
They used cocoa for the stencil...we were wondering, too.  ;-)

My hubby got to spend nearly the whole day with me the next day!

We got an early start on the birthday festivities with Scooter's and a new donut shop.

The donuts were enjoyed at a new-to-us park and were followed by some exploring.

Those are locks on the bridge!

We didn't come prepared to leave our own...but maybe someday.  ☺

Also found some railroad tracks...

...and there was a train coming!
(Don't worry...it wasn't actually coming right then.)

Our next stop was the beautiful Overland Park Arboretum.

I think idyllic is the word.  ☺

(Not pictured: a bench by a babbling brook where we stopped to read for a bit, as well as a bird-watching cottage.)

These were little tiny wooden houses placed in an old tree's trunk!

Lunch: self-explanatory. ☺

There just happened to be a cupcake shop next to Chick-fil-a, so we decided we'd better try it.
As luck would have it, they give free birthday cupcakes!
Pumpkin Spice Latte and Choc. Chip Cookie Dough were our flavors of choice.

Bryant had a dentist appt. in the afternoon, then came home with flowers and made me a delicious steak dinner...

...and cake!
This is an aerial view of it with candles (2 and 8 for 28) - it's called Earthquake Cake...and it was so yummy!

I felt so celebrated by so many people!  Calls, cards, gifts, and wishes came rolling in all day!  I'll admit that a good percentage of the cards I received had cats on them...

Pretty sure if there was a literal key to my heart, it would be a cat-shaped Target gift card...or a tiny red vase...or a childhood-favorite snack mix with mini Doritos in it...

Received this pretty package in the mail...complete with a baby whisk!

This is what was inside!  Can't wait to put it to good use!  ☺

Not pictured: the gift of in-tune music in the form of piano tuning!  Hooray!!

Also not pictured: a sweet, thoughtful, precious gift from my husband.  Maybe I'll tell you more about it, someday.  ☺

I really can't put into words how thankful I am for yesterday and all it brought.  I never expect much (if anything) for my birthday, but I always receive beyond my wildest dreams...and not just in the form of tangible gifts.  The friendship, thoughtfulness, and love shown to me are more than I could ever ask for...and it all means so very much.

A great big "THANK YOU!" to all who helped make the day so special.  And an even bigger thank you to my husband.  He made me feel so celebrated and cherished all day.  I'm so very thankful for him and all he does!  I won't gush anymore, right now, but gosh, I love him!

Thanks for letting me share with you all!  I hope you are well and enjoying the last few days of September - can you believe it's almost over?!

28-ly,
Kensy

Favorites of the day:

surprises

Post-it notes

the opportunity to attend a great piano teachers' workshop and win this door prize:

Pretty fitting, huh?