fakation

Jared is not really into his birthday. But I love birthdays and try to turn his into a national holiday every year, which can really irk him. Conveniently, his birthday often falls on a national holiday - thanks, President's Day! - which really helps my cause. So this year, it was the usual "Let's-do-something-super-fun!" from me and the "Let's-just-pretend-it-isn't-happening" from him.

So I was very surprised when, the Friday before his birthday Jared woke up and announced the following: he wanted to take a family trip for his birthday. His itinerary was so specific, I wondered if he had had a vision during the night! We would leave right after church on Sunday, leaving it a surprise for the kids until then. We would drive to Eugene (just 2 hours away), stay at a hotel with a nice indoor pool and good breakfast. We would let the kids swim their hearts out, eat waffles in the morning, visit the local children's science museum, spend some time at our favorite used bookstore, get lunch, and come home. He wasn't done yet! After arriving home, we would eat the Costco chocolate cake that I would have thoughtfully purchased on Saturday and open presents. Ta da! And that's what he wanted for his birthday.

With the small hiccup of the science museum being closed on Monday (we just swam a bit more in the morning), our uncharacteristically spontaneous trip went exactly as planned.

The girls getting acquainted with the hotel room

An exhausting 2 1/2 hours of swimming before bed

Doesn't everyone look so snuggly and warm? They were so tired after swimming so long, I was sure they would fall asleep instantly. Which most of them did. I wish I had pictures of us trying to convince Eleanor to stop snuggling with Eve at 3:30 in the morning....

A rousing, after-breakfast swim

Sam, who had some reservations about the pool, decided the hot tub was much more to his liking.

No pictures of the delicious two hours we spent at Smith Family Bookstore, but it was great fun and we came out with armfuls of books.


The sumptuous cake. (Can you see Sam's mouth in the background? Gah!)

My brother-in-law has connections at Adobe and was able to help me get Jared a much-discounted Adobe Design Suite for his birthday. (And thanks to all my family for chipping in, too.) He was completely speechless and talked about it non-stop for the next several days. The perfect complement for the awesome camera Jared's dad gave him. So if you want Jared to photoshop you into a picture or switch your head to someone else's body, now is the time to ask!

The whole trip lasted about 27 hours but left me with the most vivid, happy memories. And a lot of chocolate cake. :)