A memorable birthday this year

We celebrated Bogdan's birthday last month (where did the time go?) and had the most memorable day! I think we will remember this one for a long time. We started the day off with a special breakfast in bed for him. We sang happy birthday though we didn't have a cake for him and gifted him his favorite goji berries, and an organic deodorant and organic aftershave I picked out for him. He had started refusing to use his regular deodorant because he didn't want to poison himself with aluminum, so good thing I found a good replacement! He is loving it so far, and the aftershave too.

It was actually the last day of school on Bogdan's birthday this year, and each of the kids had something going on for parents that day, so he came home early from work and we spent the afternoon going back and forth from classrooms to the gym for assemblies and back home to wait for the next thing. After school we joined some friends in their backyard for some water fun, then headed out for a date night for just us two.

It was a full day and oh so good, with a little bit of everything in it. It was nice to have family time, but I really wanted Bogdan all to myself this year for at least some of it, and just have some downtime together, so date night was perfect! We ordered a couple new things at a restaurant we had recently tried, then drove up the foothills to this amazing hiking area we had actually never been to before. I had done some research online and we drove up and found a place to park, then picked a trail to hike. I wasn't sure if it was the one I wanted or not, but it seemed like a good one and I didn't know how to find the one I had in mind, so off we went.

Well, it just kept going and going, and soon we realized that we were barely making any progress down, and of course we still had to go back up after coming down. The sun was setting fast, and it always seemed like we would reach the sunny spot just up ahead of us as soon as we came around the next bend, but it was always eluding us as the sun beat us over and over again. Soon we decided to run down to save time, and though I was wearing tennis shoes (thank God), I was wearing a stiff polyester blouse and wasn't too comfortable in it while running. I don't know what I expected--I guess I thought we'd do more of a leisurely hike that wouldn't take too long. Whoops. We ended up walking/running at least 6 miles round-trip, and the last 3 miles were uphill. Up a very steep hill. It was such a challenge getting back up that mountain, this time along the road we drove to get up there, and though my legs were doing okay, my lungs were not. There were times where I just had to slow down to a very slow walk to catch my breath, otherwise I felt like I would suffocate. It was scary because both of our phones died and it was growing dark, and we kept passing cars on their way down as we were going up. We debated hitching a ride with someone to get back to our car, but we were too chicken to do it. Instead we ran as much as possible, walked the rest of the way, and worried about what the in-laws were thinking that we were out so late and when in the world would we come pick up the kids. :)

I often crave some kind of adventure, and this evening was so good for my soul. It was just us two out in nature, and it was so beautiful all around. We were up above the city, exploring a place we had never seen before, talking and laughing and enjoying each other's company. We would stop to take a picture or sneak in a kiss, then keep going, admiring the scenery and the beautiful sunlight streaming down the mountains. I used to think the Idaho desert was boring when I was young, but I have really come to appreciate it over the years. Now I think it is so beautiful. There was a sense of danger and uncertainty since we had no idea where we would end up or how long it would take us, and I kind of loved that part of it. It sure gave me some contrast to my I-know-exactly-what-to-expect suburban days. I can't wait to get out there again and explore some more.

And with that Bogdan is another year older! In sixteen more days I'm celebrating my own birthday and I have no idea what I want to do for it yet, so I better get planning. All I know is I have to leave my 20s behind with a bang!

xoxo,
Tanya