40 continued...

I had a beautiful, sunny day for turning 40!  As evidenced by all the squinty-eyed photos...  Soooo... how does a sassy, goofy, dorky 40-year-old celebrate?  Ummm... about the same as any typical sunny, summer day!  Blueberry picking!  Oh!  My 15-year-old offered to chaperone me for my birthday.  She *swears* she meant chauffeur, but, hey!  Another year older, I'm sure I can get into a bit more trouble, too!  Actually... we got half-way to our intended picking spot & had to return for my purse.  Then, after all my triple-checking to make sure all the girls used the bathroom before we left, guess who had to pee in the woods?  Yup... maybe I need a chaperone more than a chauffeur...

Sooooo... when we finally got to the top of the mountain for a 2:00 picnic (ooops!), we discovered that the wild berries are gone.  Well... they're still hanging on the bushes.  But they have become "leather berries".  Or perhaps "blaisins".  Our dry summer seems to have hurried them through their life cycle.  Thank goodness for a beautiful view, nutty kids and a whole lot of laughter!  And a chaperone who liked the idea of another hour of driving curvy back roads.  (Hmmm... is there such a phenomenon as a 15-year-old kid who *doesn't* like the idea of extra driving time?)  Although, I wonder if she was having a little too much fun on some of those curves?  Maybe I should worry a little when we are headed down a steep, twisty hill and I hear "whoooooo!  Mom, this is like a roller coaster!"

By the time we arrived at blueberry fields #2, we had about 20 minutes of picking time.  And the kids wanted enough berries for pies.  Thank goodness they are old enough to actually *help* with the picking now.  We managed 5 lbs. of berries in that tiny window of time!

Then it was off to my parents' house for dinner with the family!  An evening full of laughter!  My favorite way to celebrate!  Oh!  Poor hubby kept trying to figure out what to do for my birthday.  He tried sending me to a quilt show.  Or to a fair.  Poor guy... foiled again!  I refused to go anywhere big and splashy.  I just wanted a sunny day filled with family and friends.  (Perhaps he put in the order for that gorgeous sunshine?  It was much appreciated!)

 

While we were playing a goofy card game (in which my brother-in-law and I completely whipped the competition), kiddo #3 decided that she was staying overnight and headed up the stairs for bed.  I love that the routines at Nana and Boppa's house are just as familiar as home!  My dad brushed her teeth, played the "over-jammie, peek-a-boo game", kissed Barney (the favorite toy) and the kiddo goodnight, and she settled right down for an impromptu overnight.  Which gave the rest of us a bit longer to visit.

And when we got home, this bright, happy sunflower was waiting on our porch!  I had no idea who it was from, until we found this little signature...

Yup... I've been Mickey-ed!  My buddy and I have a long history of swapping car decorations back and forth!  It's always such a silly surprise to find a new bit of humor on the side (or antenae) of the car!  This is the first time a plant has arrived wearing car decorations, though!  Oh, I laughed and laughed!

And to finish up a wonderful day, a teenaged buddy stopped in at 10:30 to say happy birthday.  (And to make sure his mom's Mickey arrived safely!)  The oldest two kiddos, teenage buddy and I sat around laughing and joking for nearly an hour!  And you know it is a good buddy when oldest kiddo comes downstairs in striped pajamas to visit! 

Oh!  It was a wonderful day!

Have a happy day!