Picture Perfect Birthday

Yesterday was my birthday. It was such an amazing day. I woke up to find my favorite coffee (decaf with vanilla creamer) and fresh bagels waiting for me.

Oh, and a vanilla frosted french crueller from the bakery. My husband got up while I was still sleeping and surprised me. The kitchen was decorated with balloons and a Happy Birthday Banner that the kids helped put up.

The kids and I went out in the yard and ran through the sprinkler (yes, I did too, it was really hot). My husband got some work done and then we ordered take out from our new favorite restaurant. It is Dixie's Smokehouse Texas BBQ. They have delicious food. We ordered a bunch of it and headed to the beach. We ate at the picnic area which is elevated so you look out and see the water. We were the only ones there, it was awesome. Later we went down to the water and the kids built sand castles while I dug my feet into the moist sand. It was so peaceful. There was one windsurfer out on the water and that was it. It was as if we had our own private beach. That is the benefit to finding a small town beach and going later in the day. Here are some pictures of our gorgeous beach.



I didn't have my camera with me, and I am not such a great photographer so I found these photos on the Soundbounder blog.
If you want to learn more about our beautiful Long Island Sound, check out his blog.

After going home and cleaning everyone up we went to my mother-in-laws for cake and ice cream. The cake was delicious. Vanilla cake with custard and fresh strawberries for the filling and fresh whipped cream. Our bakery makes the most delicious cakes. Everyone loves them.

Then I opened my presents. I must say shopping for presents is not easy for my husband but he did a wonderful job. I gave him a list of things I would like, along with the sizes. I got two pairs of Bermuda shorts, 2 pairs of flip flops, one pink, one green (you never can have too many flip flops!), two nail polishs, and a Sephora eye makeup set. I try to use the most natural products I can find, and Sephora has a nail polish line called "OPI for Sephora". It is free of some of the icky chemicals although it is a bit more expensive. I wanted to try something different for the summer so got a bottle of this blueish greenish color.
My mother-in-law gave me this:

Okay, let me explain. First of all, she doesn't think I am not a good cleaner. I was telling her how I need to clean all the mini-blinds in the playroom because they were so dusty and the feather duster wasn't getting it all. She mentioned that I should try the Swifter duster. So she picked one up for me and gave it to me along with some money to buy whatever I wanted. See, I told you she was sweet.

I also had received some other money gifts from my mom and my aunt so I put it all together and had fun doing some Lands End shopping. They are having a super summer sale and I got some great deals like leather flip flops for $14.99 reduced from $39.50.

I also got a bunch of t-shirts and a couple of layering tanks. I love the quality of Lands End products and a great return policy. You can return anything at anytime, no questions asked. And you don't have to mail it back, you can just go to a Sear's store. No, I am not a spokesperson for Lands End, but I should be with the amount of their stuff that I own.

The best part about my birthday yesterday was how happy the kids were. They said "It feels like everyone's birthday today" and "It is like a family birthday". Everyone enjoyed how we spent the day and that is what made it so much fun. How do you like to spend your birthday?