Birthday Weekend

My 35th birthday was on Friday, and I drug out the birthday celebrations all weekend long! My family and friends made it very special. If you recall, last year my birthday fell shortly after the coronavirus lockdown. Restaurants were closed, and we weren't even seeing our closest friends. Boomer was sweet to take the kids over to my parents' house and then pick up Cracker Barrel for us to eat at home. This year, with restaurants open and with the vaccine lowering the case count, it felt more like a birthday with eating out and blowing out candles again. Funny enough, my restaurant of choice was the same - Cracker Barrel. It just may be a new tradition! After the workday on Friday, we went there for dinner, and my parents joined us this time, instead of babysitting. Emmy was a big help when it came time to blow out the candle. 

On Saturday, it was a fun day from start to finish. In the morning, Megan and I got in our usual long run, with crisp but comfortable spring temperatures. Then Boomer and I met Ashley and Jared around noon for a relaxing afternoon of winery hopping. We purchased tickets for the Yadkin Winter Reds Tour, which included a wine and food pairing at four different wineries in Yadkin County. We started first at Sanders Ridge with a pulled pork slider and their Sweet Noble Muscadine wine. Then we headed to RagApple Lassie, for more pork barbeque with their Rockford Red. We spent the most time at our third stop, Cellar 4201. Ashley and Jared had brought cupcakes for my birthday, which we "paired" with the delicious sweet & sour meatballs with a Merlot. The fourth and final stop was at Flint Hill Vineyards for a raspberry chocolate cupcake with their Crimson Crush. I tend to prefer white wine (...well, let's be honest, I really like soda!) but it was so fun to sample the food and wine at all the different stops. We always have such a good time with the Joneses. 

After saying farewell to Ashley and Jared, Boomer and I headed back to Kernersville; our day was not over yet. Boomer made reservations at a newer, fancy restaurant in town called The Prescott. It's known for its creative dishes and farm-to-table ingredients. Every item on the menu looked delicious. We decided on the lobster dip for our appetizer. Boomer ordered the Caesar salad with crusty cauliflower and blackened salmon over fettucine; I had the chopped salad with bleu cheese and the seafood risotto. My mouth is watering just looking at the photos again! 

While Boomer and I were galivanting all across Yadkin and Forsyth County, Grammy held down the fort at home. She covered two meals and bedtime duties; she is such a rockstar! She also planned fun activities with the kids, including making "Happy Patrick's" cupcakes and taking a trip to the park. I chuckle when I see the look on Emmy's face as she is pushing Eli in the swing - she is giving it her all! Before bedtime, Grammy put pink rollers in Emmy's hair for church in the morning. Sadly, it didn't produce the bouncy curls that we remembered from Megan's and my childhood. I can't quite determine if the curlers came out on their own or if perhaps they were tampered with. Emmy still looked cute in our matching Mommy-and-me dress. After church, I had one last celebratory meal; we went to East Coast Wings, and it doubled for my birthday and for winning the Bakewell March Madness bracket challenge. While I loved the simple celebration in 2020 when I turned 34, this year's birthday blowout weekend will be hard to top!