The Big 2-4

Last week was Jeffrey's birthday and his parents flew us to La Canada to celebrate! It was such a wonderful break from Provo, especially considering there was a 40 degree weather difference. On Friday Jeffrey had a meeting with UC Irvine so he and his dad went down to Orange County while his mom and I went around Pasadena and La Canada getting things done for his birthday. While in Irvine, all of Jeffrey's siblings/affiliated family members met up with them and went to lunch! (It really was the entire Weston family, minus Jeanne and me. Kind of funny).

    

Here Jeffrey is being greeted by his biggest fan base, Will and Annie. They brought him a birthday balloon that spoke when you tapped on it, so Will loved going around hitting it as hard as he could showing everyone the balloon he picked out. So cute.    

        

Jeffrey looks like a little boy in this picture and it makes me laugh. Just so happy to be spending his birthday in sunny California.

Some of Jeffrey's presents, including goldfish, Dr. Pepper, and chocolate sauce. So simple to keep that boy happy.

Baskin Robbins ice cream cake

Will loved helping Jeffrey open his presents. Here he is cutting the ribbon off all of the presents to help out his uncle. 

The day after his birthday everyone came from all over to go to lunch at one of my favorite Mexican restaurants, Los Gringos. Nate, Nicole and their kids from Orange County, Chris and Amanda from Irvine, his aunt and her family, his uncle and his family, and even his grandparents from Santa Monica came to eat lunch with us. 

 

And finally, back in Provo I continued the tradition that my mom always did for us: birthday breakfast in bed. A great way to end a fun birthday celebratory weekend!

Where's The Good Mail?

Remember when you were young and opening mail was so fun to do? You look outside and see that short little white mail truck stop by your mailbox, and you'd run outside to get the mail praying you'd see your name addressed on a letter... Preferably, on a pink letter with confetti on it and the words "BIRTHDAY PARTY" on it. It was a much simpler time. Now I understand why my parents had the complete opposite reaction than I did when I saw the mailman. A stuffed mailbox no longer emanates the hopes and dreams of a birthday party or, even better, a sleep over party, but rather solidifies the unfortunate reality of responsibility in the form of bills. My mail box is constantly filled with a nagging reminder that I need to pay rent, electricity, internet, credit card... And, being 22 years old and in Provo, Utah, there is of course the weekly wedding/baby shower invite. And every time I haul the mail up to my apartment, letters ready to burst out of my arms like snakes in a can, I have the tiniest temptation to just throw it all away, ignore the problem, act like its not there. But, the responsible wife in me scolds my inner child for being whiny that there's no birthday card, and I sift through the bills and wedding invites.

This past mail trip, however, was a much more pleasant surprise. Knowing my strange affinity for packages in the mail, my mom decided to brighten my week and send me a Valentine's package. How exciting! I could feel 7 year old Dara jumping inside ready to tear apart the box and see its contents. My mom has always sent me miscellaneous holiday packages since I went to college and I LOVE every one. This one was a care package of love, from holiday socks (I never have to go sock shopping.. if there is such a thing.. due to my overwhelming collection of holiday socks from my parents.) to fruit snacks, those heart candies (that for some reason I literally can't get enough of) to cheesy gold fish for Jeffrey; it was the perfect pick-me-up for the week. Thanks mom!

Note: Notice that the sweethearts and goldfish are both absent. Those were quickly devoured upon opening this box. Much needed.


Not to mention in this same mailbox outing there was a letter for Jeffrey from his grandparents... always a good thing to see in the mail. A little heavier than regular mail, but still fits inside the envelope. I wonder what they sent... :)

I love having family on both sides that are so considerate and thoughtful to the random couple living hundreds of miles away.

Super Duper Bowl

 So who else thought that Superbowl was lame? Its hard for me to get excited about professional football as it is, but with both teams being from the east coast... it wasn't the most exciting game to watch. At least the first half wasn't, the second half picked up a little bit. Anyway, my thrills in the Superbowl are all of the "girl things". Preparing food for Jeffrey and his friends, waiting for the funniest commercials, watching Madonna hobble her way across the stage during that performance. (Horrible half-time show, for the record. As much as I respect that Madonna is 54 and still performing, perhaps her choreographer should remember for whom the dance is created. Hip thrusting at 54 years old just seems so unequivocally wrong.) So here is the food I made for the game. Both easy and both made to pacify hungry boys as they watch football.

These are super easy pizza rolls that I found on Pinterest. They are crescent rolls wrapped around a half of a string cheese stick and a large pepperoni. Then I melted some butter and added some garlic salt and parmesan cheese to create a glaze over the top. They turned out to be really delicious and all of Jeffrey's friends really liked them.

This is a Butterfinger cookie bar. Also found on Pinterest, it combines a regular cookie recipe with some curshed up Butterfinger bars. The frosting is made of butter, shortening, and powdered sugar. These were a huge hit as well. And again, really easy! (And better tasting than the picture seems to show).

All in all, a fun time had with good friends. Hopefully next year someone closer to home  (49ers comeback?) can be in the game. Either way, I'll still be watching it only for the half-time performance and ridiculous commercials.