January 11

I had a quiet 46th birthday. It's a busy time for Adam at work so I took the boys to school and then went to the Mother Ship, where I opted to use my birthday reward on an oat milk pistachio latte. (The verdict: tasty but not worth the $7.15 it would've cost me had it not been free.) Then I drove over to Walmart and Target to look for new cars. I didn't find any I didn't already have, but I smiled to myself when I turned down the Hot Wheels aisle and immediately spotted two Corvettes on the pegs and another sitting on the shelf. It was like a timely 'hi Mom' from my sweet Logan. I miss him a little extra on my birthday.

Later in the day, after I picked the boys up from school and Adam finished work, we went to dinner at Mexico Lindo. Isaac decided it would be a good time to experiment with some of the filters on his phone, and I laughed heartily at some of the results. We all did. 

Then we returned home, where we video-called Abby so she could watch while I opened my presents and cut the cake. I almost always opt for some combination of chocolate and peanut butter but switched it up this year by going with lemon frosting on white cake. And as always, Adam used the correct number of candles, so it was like facing --and trying to single-handedly extinguish-- an inferno. (And I almost did it with one attempt! Just a single stubborn candle stayed lit.)

So that was my day. I had a hard time choosing a photo, but ultimately went with this one of us from dinner because it's genuine. I love these people (and I love Abby and Logan too, even though they weren't here with me physically). They're my people. And they make every year that passes an adventure worth remembering and treasuring and, well, living. 

So today I'm thankful to add another candle to my cake.