Sand, Surf, and a Birthday Celebration

Aaron turned 32 over Labor Day weekend! We celebrated with a trip to see family in California. We left Thursday after work and crossed our fingers that Sunny would sleep in the car. It look about an hour longer than usual but eventually she did it! We've discovered for her to fall asleep in the car that it's typically best for me to stay out of her eyesight. The minute she sees me is the minute she decides it's party time. My sweet nieces let us sleep in their room and my sister-in-law had the pack n' play ready to go for when we showed up at 1am. Sunny felt pretty alert after her 5 hour "nap" but eventually fell asleep, only to wake up again around 5:30am.

Finally asleep and I just want to kiss those cheeks

Our first full day, the highlight was watching my two darling nieces cheer at their high school football game. I love watching them grow and continue to develop their many talents. It was such a joy. Aaron's birthday was filled with surfing, great food, and most importantly time with family. While I participated in a training, he went out with my brother and nephew. Evidently the waves were pretty perfect and they had a great time. We thought it would be special for Sunny's first ocean experience to fall on her dad's birthday so before her bedtime we headed back to the beach. We dipped her toes in the waves and let her crawl around in the sand. In a matter of about 30 seconds she took a fist full of salty, wet sand and popped it right in her mouth. We stopped her before she was able to go back for seconds.

Not our proudest parenting moment

I had some serious FOMO on Friday and Saturday while I was in my training but I felt grateful we were able to spend time with family and still make it a special day. After Sunny went to bed, My brother, sister-in-law, Aaron and I enjoyed a dinner out. Eating food while it was hot was Sunny's present to both of us. Sunday night we made dinner and had an extra celebration with all the kids. Monday morning, we walked down the pier and watched as several humpback whales put on a show. Magical. I could have watched for hours. Sunny decided 20ish minutes was plenty.

The Greatest Hosts

My sister-in-law Kristin watched Sunny for us on Saturday morning and then again on Monday so we could go surfing with my brother and my niece. Aaron went further out with my brother Mike and I stayed closer to shore to have a better chance at catching some waves. We had the best time and we weren't ready to leave. We came home to Kristin on her way to pick up some incredible birria tacos. The perfect send off. Whenever we leave their house we immediately want to turn around and come back. California is wonderful, but for me nothing beats meaningful time with family. We also decided that as much as we don't love leaving later in the day, Sunny tends to do better towards bedtime rather than a midday roadtrip. We don't always have the option, but it's something we'll consider on future drives.

I love birthdays. For me, they are a time to reflect and feel gratitude for the people you love. Aaron's birthday has had me reflecting on how thankful I am that he's my person and how grateful I am that he's Sunny's dad. He is a devoted, loving, fun, quick-witted, consistent, faithful, adventurous dad who adds so much joy to our lives. He is my rock and I love doing life with him. Happy Birthday Babe. Thank you for being the best dad to Sunny + the pets and the sweetest husband to me. I love you.