Daniel's Birthday

This past Friday was Daniel's 23rd birthday! I can't believe that an entire year has gone by since we celebrated. It seems like it was just yesterday, but then looking back at the past year SOO much has happened. We've moved twice, finished an entire school year, celebrated our one year anniversary, and had more fun than I would have ever though possible!! 

Celebrating birthday's is one of my most favorite things in the entire world. At my house growing up, your birthday was a HUGE deal. We always were woken up to birthday singing, there was always a banner and streamers, my mom made us our favorite meal and a delicious cake, and we always got to choose the activity for the day. My parents always made us feel so special and loved. It has been fun for me to continue trying to do those things for Dan on his birthday as well. This year we were a little short on funds, but I tried my hardest. In the end all that really matters is that Dan and I spent time together, and had a blast. 

I sure as heck love that kid! Right now he is asleep in bed, snuggled up with me, snoring softly. He is the best husband, and the best friend that I could ever have. I feel so lucky to have him. I look at what my life used to be, especially that semester before I met Daniel, and I'm so blessed that he came into my life. He was exactly what I needed, and what I continue to need. That is why I love celebrating his birthday, it is just a good time to remind him why I care.

I stayed up late the night before and cleaned the house and did all the dishes (this was part of my present to Dan. In our house Dan almost exclusively does the dishes. He is so amazing!). I then decorated the house, and snuck outside to decorate his car. Holy smokes...it was like 2 am and I was kind of freaked out. There was this cat outside that kept creeping me out, and I was positive a cop was going to drive by and yell at me. Luckily it all turned out in the end :) And the car looked good too!!

The next morning I woke up (Dan had already left for work), and got started on the making his cake. He asked for a German Black Forest Cake (my sister has a fabulous recipe). This is what it looked like:

That's a can of cherry pie filling - its the secret ingredient that makes it delish!

going into the oven

cooling -  yum!

Then, the best part of my whole day came home! It was a Friday, so Dan gets off at 12:30 - which has been so awesome the entire summer, but really nice since it was also his birthday!!

The banner I had made.

For lunch we went to Tucanos. This is probably one of our favorite restaurants!! It's a little pricey, so we usually go on birthdays! Its awesome because they give you a free meal anytime during your birthday month. They have the best meat, and a great salad bar! My favorite thing is the grilled pineapple. It's like eating straight candy. So sugary and delicious!

my cute boy

full and happy

Do you want to know what we did next? We took our full bellies home and took a nap!! And a really long one too! It was amazing!! While Dan kept napping I got up and made the frosting for the cake. I got the cake all ready so we could eat it as a treat for later that night.

Finished project

Once we were all awake again we headed to the fair! It was a lot of fun. We watched the ranch rodeo and a hypnotist. We loved being together, and I had never seen a rodeo so that was pretty cool. Except I felt bad for the animals getting all tied up.

Then we headed home to eat CAKE! Holy smokes, it was so delicious! I sang Happy Birthday to Dan 3-4 times. That must be a Kolts' thing. We usually sing until the cake is covered in wax and the candles are virtually non-existant. 

Stud

YUMMY!

We had such a fun evening together! I'm still working on his quilt, the top is almost all put together. It has been a production working on it with finals and everything, but I made some good progress on it! That is his gift from me, so hopefully I can have it done ASAP! It looks awesome, and he tells me he likes it, so that is a good sign. 

Happy Birthday Daniel!! I sure do love you!