My 27th (for the 3rd time) Birthday

I was very blessed this year to have my family come to our house to celebrate with me! Jason was even able to work it out with work to be off and he skipped class that day, so I had everyone with me! My birthday was on Saturday, but Ash, Matt, and Austin came in the Monday before and spent the entire week with us, then Daddy, Momma, and Laina came in on Friday. Saturday, we all swam and hung out, enjoying each other's company, relaxing, talking, watching movies, and of course, there was a Walmart run at some point for Matt and Jason. Then we had my birthday dinner. The food...exceptional, as always! Can't beat southern cooks! 

My Daddy, the grill master!

 Fried squash, zucchini, and green tomatoes from the garden.

Ash's to-die-for homemade mac 'n cheese.



Plus, we had all the fixins, and my birthday cake, well, I'm sure you can all guess...Momma's homemade chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and assorted Breyer's ice creams:)  It was a meal for a princess!

Then came gift time!  My family spoils me, I tell ya!  A few of my treasures...Austin gave me a recordable book, where he reads to me, called "All The Ways I Love You".  I cried, it was so very precious!  My parents got me the most comfy sleep shirt I've ever had, with, of course, Tinkerbell on the front and some wired American flags that I wove through the grapevine on my mantel.  Alaina got me this cute metal cow with a flower pot that I plan on putting some rosemary in. Ash and Matt got me the bird's nest photography prop a few months back so I could start using it for photoshoots, and it has proven to be a super cute prop!  And Jason got me a whole array of things, a bag full of goodies from nail polish to Tinkerbell bandaids to shimmering suntan lotion, and a Jeep hoodie and license plate, a shirt from AE..just to name a few!  So, needless to say, I was a happy girl:)



And to end a wonderful day, once it got dark, we built a campfire and roasted marshmallows and made smores.  I'll share a few pictures from the campfire, everyone was there, but there were a few camera shyers. 

The beautiful blaze.



My little sunburnt sis.



I think it's hilarious that Matt has marshmallow in his goatee, he looks full and happy!

Poor Jason was worn out, he had duty the night before in order to be home on my birthday.

The best parents in the whole universe!

The weekend visits are always too short, but I enjoy every second of them and look forward to the next one!  The rest of the week, Alaina and Austin stayed down with us, as did Ash and Matt (until Thursday), and on Saturday, the rest of us hit the road to go back to the cabin.  We could only stay until Sunday night, but we crammed everything we could fit into that day and a half.  Saturday night, we went downtown to a classic car show and street festival.  Super fun, but my husband is now determined to own a classic car now.  (Rolling eyes)  As if his Jeep doesn't keep him busy enough!  Sunday morning, Jason was in the 4th of July program at the church I grew up in.  He wore his blues, and represented the Marines proudly.  After church, we finally got to eat at the oh-so-talked-about Dairi-O, and I must say, it definately lives up to the hype!  Delish!  And to finish off the afternoon, I squeezed in a photoshoot of sweet baby Clara, who was an absolute doll (except when she got hungry of course!).  Once all was said and done, we hit the road at about 7:00 pm.  What a weekend!  Jason's schedule will be better come September, as he will go back to not having duty every 3rd day and we can actually take leave again, so until then, I guess we have to get used to this busy way of life!  That's the military for ya!