29/29/29

This year, for my 29th birthday on August 29th, Aaron the husband, a pair of bestie friends Jon & Linda, and I, along with the various children in tow, went about on a scavenger hunt, of sorts, accomplishing adventures to commemorate the event.

Here are 29 pictures detailing our outings over two days of celebrating my existence. Does it get better than this?

First, we went Blinking,
 which I suppose you could describe as a derivative of Planking for fangirls and boys who've waited too long for their favorite show to return. We didn't venture into any cool cemeteries, sadly, mostly because they were all too far out of the way. We had to get pretty creative (and muddy our (okay, just mine) butts a bit), at some points. Thankfully, four fully grown adults with children walking around every garden shop in North County San Diego does not appear too suspicious at first glance, and aside from several sideways glances, we were pretty much left alone to create these masterpieces.

Aaron is determined to win the staring contest. 

Jon is prepared for a painful stomping.

Making a run for it with one eye on the villain.

Linda spots a sneaky one.

Next we created some friends. 
We made quite a few more than are pictured here, but these are some favorites. Next time I'll bring super glue, to ensure that people will really be able to enjoy them for a long time.
At one point I showed Miah how to made one too, and she asked, "Mom, are we changing our town?" Yes, sweetheart. Yes we are.

Bruce the Shedman lives for the moments he's open and can see the west. 

Squirt is tall for his age and tells his friends about all the hott ladies that make out with him all day (he excludes stories of the large mustached man...)

Belrog the Cart Boy led a flat life.
Gladys and Cindy spend their days "relaxing" with the gardeners.

The long-nosed sawfish was recently discovered by scientists, and is a fascinating beast to study. It breathes both air and water, and camouflages itself an shelves at hardware stores.  

Othello, the poor tortured soul on the left, is a sad little creature, always a bit depressed about being so round. 

Gregory lived a solitary life, though not by his choosing. His nose was so large and so constantly under pressure, everyone assumed he had a cold and kept their distance. 

Maggie, on the other hand, is the life of the party--sometimes to a fault. See the half-empty bottle sticking partway out her mouth? I hear her family are planning an intervention soon.  

Our next objective was placing a few notices for the benefit of the community. 

Trust me, the community benefits from these. People need to know this stuff, you guys.

Kukaw!

She's helping.

Proper identification of all manner of chicken sounds and behaviors is a high priority for us, even though we're a bit south of the O.C. (don't call it that).

Even more importantly, though, were the next bills posted:

I grabbed a strip of paper from a signpost, but I forgot why.

Yes, we have been missing, and counting down the days until the return of, the Doctor.

Miss Miah made a grass angel while her sister climbed my legs.

The ever-charming Sharps made use of some extra eyes for a bit.

Then it was time to head home for some dinner. 

Not just any dinner, mind you. This dinner:

Beet and citrus salad with avocado lime dressing.
Roasted baby carrots in ginger garlic butter.
Lemon artichoke risotto.
Proscuitto-wrapped chicken roulade stuffed with dried cherries stuffing.
Blood Orange San Pelegrino and sparkling moscato to drink.

We ate ourselves silly. See?

The risotto turned out to be the star of the night. My oh my... I wish I still had some leftover. The bitey lemon and artichoke with the creamy, brothy rice. It was just remarkable.

Did I mention there were presents?

Hand-painted by Linda. 

That's right. Les Misérable. On my birthday. It's okay, I'd be jealous too.

The production was fantastic. I was a little worried I wouldn't be as impressed with it as I had been the show in Manhattan, but considering the restrictions on a traveling show, they did a magnificent job. Loved it, and loved getting to go with Aaron as he saw it for the first time.

Snack at Intermission

Aaron bought me a shirt, and I bought him a mug.

To top off our experiences, we decided
our neighborhoods needed a little stop-sign pun art.

We actually accomplished one additional project between us, but this is long enough as it is.

Come back another day and you'll find it. :)

Happy birthday to me!!