Birthday | July 14, 2014

I celebrated my birthday in July. Since I had lots of family visiting from overseas, it was a happy birthday. Below is a picture of me and presents (presents!!) from my family.

On my actual birthday--which fell on a Monday, boooo--Russ took me out to a nice restaurant here in Carlsbad. It was by a beach and we ate lots of food.

Panoramic shot

Left: handsome husband
Right: The Henrys

The day after my birthday, Russ made me chocolate covered everything:

Oreos and strawberries

And the week after my birthday, we ate at a sushi restaurant. There was a sign that said you get free tempura ice cream if it was your birthday month. Naturally, I wanted the free dessert. But what we didn't know was that if you tell them it's your birthday, they dim the lights throughout the whole restaurant, put on strobe lights, play a loud happy birthday song while the Japanese chefs come out in funky happy birthday hats and giant sunglasses. They even put a birthday hat on me. Definitely worth the free dessert.

After enduring lots of embarrassment, I finally got my tempura ice cream.

Turning 23

This blog post is a bit late, but better late than never! On July 14, I turned 23. There's nothing special about that age I had thought, but Russell made sure I had a special birthday weekend. The reasons why I love this man increases infinitely everyday.

He surprised me my taking me up to Santa Barbara for my birthday weekend. We stayed in a cozy little Bed & Breakfast that was a block away from the beach and a couple blocks from the zoo. They even had bikes we can borrow for free and ride along the beach.

   

Look at the pretty scenery. And Russell.

Pretty Santa Barbara beach.

Making faces

 We also ate a lot of food and walked around little crafts stands. The zoo was one of our favorites. I'll always have a soft spot for elephants and turtles.

At the zoo

I couldn't have asked for a better birthday. As for my presents, Russell got me a pink phone case and a pink bible. My sweet husband is the best.