Welcome to 28.

On June 16th of this year I celebrated two things. First, it was my 28th birthday. Second, our new nephew A.J. (short for Andrew James) was born. Now I have a lifelong birthday buddy!

I had a fabulous birthday weekend. We spent Friday night grilling on Alki beach with our friends Amanda and Travis. We watched the sunset, enjoyed good conversation, and even got to make some delicious s'mores. 

Sunset from Alki Beach.

On Saturday, we had a party at our friends John and Elise's house (since our one-bedroom apartment doesn't accommodate many more than four). Luke did an amazing job planning every detail of the party, and we enjoyed a great afternoon and evening of lawn games, food, and fun!

It was a beautiful afternoon for lawn games and barbecuing! 

Luke and John and Elise's Bernese Mountain Dog puppy, Ellie. (I am Ellie's best friend, but Luke comes in as a close second.) She's getting a little too big to hold these days...

Elise and I post-party. One thing's for sure, there's no one better at hosting than Elise and John. 

Thank you, Ingrams!

Luke went to the party store to get some balloons to decorate. When he came out, he was carrying a party hat that said, "birthday boy." Clearly, I am not a boy. He said the store was having a going-out-of-business sale and the only birthday hats they had left said, "birthday boy." So, being the creative man that he is, he turned it into a "birthday woman" hat for me. However, everyone else still got a kick out of calling me the "birthday boy" all night. 

Time for some cake!

On Sunday--my actual birthday--the celebrating continued! Luke took me to the Original Pancake House for breakfast (it's my favorite!). We watched some baseball in the afternoon, and had dinner at a great little pizza place in Fremont. I couldn't ask for a more thoughtful and loving husband to help make my birthday feel so special. Another great thing was that my birthday fell on Father's Day this year! I was actually born on Father's Day (the best present my dad ever got!), and it's rare that my birthday falls on the same day. 

And now, I get to share my birthday with my adorable nephew, A.J. Here's a picture of him from the hospital before they brought him home.

Welcome to the world, birthday buddy. June 16th is a fabulous day to be born!