One Step Closer: Birthday Weekend

This last week was my 25th birthday. So we decided to drop everything on the remodeling front and take a trip to the beach. It's about an hour and half to get there from our house, and we always go at least once a year during the summer. We had yet to go this year, and when I realized that summer was almost at an end, we jumped at the first chance to go. Ja's sister and brother-in-law had gone out the night before and had invited us to come, so we packed up and spent the night out there on Saturday night. A lot of my family came to meet us on Sunday.
The weather was absolutely gorgeous, which is saying a lot! The Oregon coast is not always the most pleasant place on earth. Usually it's extremely windy and the water is ice. But, this last weekend was in the high 80's and there was not a cloud in the sky. Apparently, everyone else checked the weather forecast and decided it was a great weekend to spend at the beach because trying to find a parking space was ridiculous. We finally pulled into a hotel that was right on the beach and just a few feet from the parking lot. Ja surprised me and said we could stay another night for my bday. I am so happy we did. We were able to have a room with an ocean front view. King bed. And, a queen murphy bed. Kitchen with an oven, fridge, and microwave. And, deck that overlooked the ocean. The gals at the front desk knocked down the price big time. They were a bit enchanted with Isla. Not sure if she was the reason they gave us such a great deal, or if they just wanted their rooms filled. I'm sure it was Isla.
We played on the beach for a few hours. Sahara had a blast. That kid would live outside, on the beach if I let her. She is such a baby beach bum. Loved to dig in the sand, build castles with flags (feathers), on top, and the beach that we went to has a tiny river that runs into the ocean. (It's actually the smallest river recorded, or so the sign says), and Sahara loved playing in it. It only came up to her knees in the deepest parts and no huge waves to worry about.
After a few hours of fun, we all headed up to our room and cleaned up. The guys went to go grab some things for supper and Ja surprised me again with a cake. Love that man.

Let me interrupt this weekend breakdown for just a sec, and tell you how far my dear hubby has come...

First Christmas: I go crazy and buy Ja a million things. All wrapped pretty, waiting under the Christmas tree, days before Christmas. I have 1 present, sorta wrapped under the tree. Ja's stocking I have filled with candies, magazines, etc..., all wrapped, with ribbon on. My stocking: two tiny lip glosses, not wrapped. Come Christmas eve, Ja wants me to open my present. Ummmm, you mean the only present under the tree for me? No thanks.
Now, don't get me wrong, I am very grateful for that present, it was really nice perfume. But, come on, I'm not going to pretend that I wasn't disappointed to find out that I did in fact, have only one present under the tree.

Second Christmas: Gets better. Presents aren't really wrapped, unless you call the paper/plastic bag the store clerk put it in, wrapping. But, more than one present.

Skip ahead to this last Christmas, much, much better. Several presents, all wrapped. No ribbon, but hey, not gonna complain. :)

Now, birthdays,...well, he is a very giving man. Loves to give gifts, loves to spoil me rotten, (have I told you about the beautiful pearl bracelet he bought me when I gave birth to Sahara; or the insanely gorgeous, and best camera he bought me when I gave birth to Isla, (he still owes me a gift for Arrayah! :) hehe), but surprises, he can't do. As soon as he buys me a present for my birthday, he gives it to me because he can't wait. Or, he doesn't get to the store, because, ohhh, he just works long hours and a trip to the mall sounds ~~excruciating~~ awesome at 9pm, and so, he does what any normal American male would do, and takes me shopping and says to pick something out. I love shopping. But, on occasion, I do love a surprise. A good, quicken your heartbeat sorta surprise. And, he did it this birthday! We had a beautiful room. The king bed was in a bedroom of its own, so Ja, me and the girls stayed in there, they brought up a crib for Isla. And with the king bed, Sahara had enough space to sleep completely crooked and we didn't even feel her wild kicks and rolls. My sister and her hubby stayed out on the murphy. We had a giant fire on the beach and roasted marshmallows. And, in the morning, we pushed the table right next to the glass door, since it was too windy on the deck, and ate breakfast overlooking the ocean. Loved it. Didn't want to come home. Except that we have a ~~tiny~~ remodeling process going on at home, that absolutely needs to get done asap. The rainy season is almost upon us.