Katie's Happy Birthday

I love my birthday. I love that it's in the summer. I love that it's near the 4th of July. I love that it's a day that's just mine. I love that my husband feels compelled to treat me even more special than usual. I love that it's the start of a new year for me (Sorry, New Years. You mean little to me). I love that my husband is older and has already made it thru this new age, so it must be do-able. I hope that I always love my birthday and that I never despair of getting a year older like so many do. 

Yesterday was my birthday, which as you know from the above paragraph is special in itself. But, this year, it was even more special, because it was a sabbatical birthday! Unlike, my husband who's work thoughtfully spoils him by giving him the day off for his birthday, I have had to work on my birthday. Being on sabbatical, however, I had the day off! 

The day started off with me sleeping in as long as my body wanted. I always wake up hungry, so Brandon and I walked to my favorite breakfast place, The Biscuit. It is my favorite because we can walk to it from our house and because nearly everything on the menu is amazing. I try to get a new dish each time I go and I have only been disappointed once. As it was my birthday, Brandon let me pick food for myself and him, so I could try two things I wanted! I, of course, chose two sugary options, which he kindly helped me devour, even though he is more in favor of savory breakfasts. 

We let our stomachs rest after our walk home by lying on the couch and finishing Dollhouse, the TV show we've been working our way through for the past few months. After a good rest, we ran to the field near our house and practiced some soccer moves til we were good and sweaty. Brandon then made a delicious lunch/dinner for me of BLT sandwiches with his specialty candied bacon. And, as if that wasn't enough, he agreed to play Scrabble with me (which means he was agreeing to lose)! 

I can't sit still for long, so I then suggested another athletic outing. I had heard of a chain ferry in Saugatuck that you can take across the river and had been really wanting to try it. Even better, was that the ferry stopped near Mount Baldhead. I had been to Mount Baldhead before with my friend, Christie, and I felt Brandon too should experience the 282 steps to the top. And, since it was my birthday, he couldn't say "no" to the experience. So, we payed the dollar fare for the ferry and crossed the river in less than 5 minutes, which was every bit as fun as I had hoped. We then proceeded to go up all 282 steps...without stopping...not bad for a 28 year old and nearly 30 year old! We enjoyed what view we could through the heavily leaved trees and then took all the steps down again and returned to the ferry for the return trip into Saugatuck. It was great fun, and Brandon had fun too, he just can't admit to it. 

 On the Saugatuck Chain Ferry

Very excited about this adventure!  

 We made it up all 282 steps to the top of Mount Baldhead! 

282 steps

We ended the day by going to Salt of the Earth in Fennville. This is one of our favorite, special occasion restaurants. The farm to table food is so flavorful and filling that we never have room for dessert. So, we decided we should go once just for dessert, nothing else. Last night, we tried their famous homemade s'more which deviates from the traditional s'more, but preserves the key components. Think graham cracker cake with chocolate pudding sauce, smokey salted caramel sauce, and topped with a giant slab of homemade marshmallow--all toasted in a brick oven. It was a grand, sugar-filled experience and Brandon was happy the dessert was fork friendly in order to avoid a mustache-beard-marshmallow catastrophe. 

Giant, fancy homemade s'more

So, all that, in addition to several super nice birthday cards, calls, texts, and facebook messages was my 28th birthday! A very happy birthday, indeed!