Hey Everybody... Aaron is Awesome!

Wednesday, Aaron turned 29!!! We spent a lovely evening at his parents' home - he and his Dad share their birthday (Happy Birthday Steve!) - complete with family in town, nieces and nephews a-plenty, savory dinner (thanks Victoria) and 2 huge delicious cakes (hats off to Rebecca and Honey and anyone else who had a hand in the evening). We celebrated at our house too...

Birthday celebrations always seem to involve candy strewn about the house and scavenger hunts.

This year Aaron's scavenger hunt led him to Mustard's Last Stand (review coming soon) for a Chicago style hot dog, and then to REI where he was able to shop away for all his bike needs. Arm warmers (which he loved so much that he refused to take off all night... even while on a trip to King Soopers), rain jacket, bike bag, tire tubes, bike pump, and other things. I didn't dare try to pick any of that out for him.

Even with all of those gifts. Still his favorite gift of all was his hot dog shirt!

Hey Everybody... I AM AWESOME!

He proudly wore it around all night. He loved the shirt so much that even he put it at the end of the bed so that it would be the first thing that he saw when he woke up in the morning. Don't worry I seriously question his age at times too ;)

We topped off the birthday celebration with cupcakes by Big Fat Cupcake... Delicious!

Happy Birthday Aaron!

25!

This past Wednesday, I turned a quarter of a century! 25 years old! And I was spoiled all day long!

First by my family...

My mother made me a scrapbook of all of my years at home. It documents my life from the time of my birth until I graduated from High School. It is amazing! I have spent hours looking at it. (Picture to come soon!)

Second by my students...

My students decorated my classroom with streamers and Happy Birthday signs. When I walked into class they all jumped out and yelled SURPRISE! I was almost in tears that they would remember and take the time to decorate and surprise me. Then to top it off they made me a cake and a giant birthday card!



Finally by my husband...

First I had to go on a scavenger hunt around the house to find my present.

Clue #1

Clue #2

All clues were leading me to this website...

Clue #3

www.tinyurl.com/aepbhl



He got me the black North Face fleece that I have been wanting for years!

Then he decorated the house. He got lucky that it happened to be my parents' 25th anniversary not too long ago and we had a few decorations left over from their party that fit this day very well!

Then he did the rope! This is a tradition from my family. Every birthday you wake up to a rope that leads you all over the house! It has little treats hanging on it. He made sure to fill the rope with my favorite Easter candy! Side note- Easter candy is the best kind of candy!

He got so creative this year. I happened to take our rope to school for a lesson one day and have yet to bring it home. To improvise he used the cord from our vacuum. (By the time I had taken these pictures I had taken off most of the treats. I promise the rope is cooler than it appears.)

Here is what I found at the end of the rope...



Upon opening up the movie case, I found two tickets to Phantom of the Opera!



So we headed out for a sushi dinner and a night at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts! So fun! John Cudia played the Phantom. He is the only man to have ever played both the Phantom and Jean Valjean from Les Miserables on Broadway. The show was amazing!



It was a great birthday! I felt so loved all day! Thanks for all of the cards, emails, phone calls, and even the personalized poem! They all meant so much! Thank you! Thank you! 25 is going to be a good year!