31.

Well, it's been a long time between posts. I can't even make up an excuse about how I just can't find the time to write in my blog since I probably spend at least a half hour everyday looking at pictures of cats on the internet. I have lots to write about, but I'm just going to devote this post to my birthday which was at the end of September. Self-absorbed? Maybe. But I turned 31 and that's a big deal.

The weekend before my birthday, my parents came to visit. My mom hadn't seen the cats in a long time, over a year and a half. She was really excited to see them. They were... not so excited.

They also brought the changing table that has been gathering dust in their basement for the last decade. No, there are no babies in our apartment (and none that are coming anytime soon) that require a changing table, but it's a nice piece of furniture to use for storage. Eventually I want to sand it down and refinish it. For now, it's a good place to keep our record player and records, and store our board games. I already changed out the hardware on it but the sanding/paint job will need to wait until we have an actual house with space and ventilation. Or, maybe I'll do it this summer on the balcony if I just can't wait. 

This is the "before" picture. Eventually I'll post an "after" picture.

A few weeks before my birthday Jordan asked what I wanted to do. Party? Romantic dinner? Drinks at the bar? I told him that I just wanted to go up north and to sit on the edge of a dock, enjoying the quiet and fall colors. And that's exactly what we did.

My mentor at school, Carly, told me about this resort near her parents house in Sayner, WI. We called and booked a cabin for the weekend. On the morning of the 27th, as we were getting ready for work, Jordan told me that he had my first birthday present ready for me. And this was it:

Hands off, ladies! This man is married to me!

He finally shaved off his goatee for me (the mustache came off after this photo was taken.) It is scratchy and not my favorite thing ever so I was happy he got rid of it, if only for a short while. After school that day we loaded up the car and drove three hours north. By the time we got there it was dark, drizzling, and Jordan had a fever. Not a great start to the weekend. But we found our cabin, ate some snacks, and settled in for the night. Here are a couple pictures of our cabin. The name of it was "Trail's End" and it was, naturally, at the end of the trail. It wasn't fancy, but it was enough for us.

The next morning was really relaxing. The sun came out, we went to the grocery store and bought every kind of anti-cold medication on the market, and we played a lot of Scrabble. I was able to spend some time contemplating my magnificent life, while sitting on the end of a dock and enjoying the fall colors. 

Jordan picked up these weird pastries called kolaches at the grocery store. And then he ate four of them. That's how I knew he was sick. 

Reading a book in the woods. There is nothing lovelier.

This was exactly what I wanted for my birthday.

Our cabin was just a few feet from the water, and we had our own dock.

Looking up through the trees.

After spending some time hanging out at our cabin, we decided to wander around the resort for a little while. We didn't bring our laptops and we turned our phones off so we never knew the time and were totally unplugged. We were also basically the only people there so it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves.

We found some new friends in the parking lot! They were very tame, we probably got within 15-20 feet of them. A momma and two babies.

Inside the main lodge it was kind of creepy. I'm sure this place was at the height of style... in the 1950's. You can tell that nothing has been updated in a long time, but I think that only adds to the charm. We also found our way into the recreation hall and enjoyed the animal heads on the wall and a short-lived pin-pong match.

In the afternoon we drank orange juice and played some more Scrabble. I opened my birthday present from my family and Jordan. My parents gave me a gift certificate to the Art museum in downtown Madison and Jordan got me a beautiful sapphire and diamond necklace that I sadly neglected to photograph.

That night we went to a local bar/restaurant called the Sayner Pub for some pizza and beer. Jordan still wasn't feeling so hot, as you can see in the following pictures. The pizza was good. We also ate a huge pile of cheese curds. Obviously our transformation into true Wisconsinites is nearly complete. There were a ton of people there to watch the OSU vs. UW-Madison game. It's a good thing we're not football fans because we would have had a hard time choosing which team to cheer for. 

On Sunday morning I got up early and did some more walking around in the woods while Jordan slept. The fog rising off the lake was just lovely. They also had some canoes to rent but between the cold weather and Jordan not feeling well, we never took one out. Next time.

I found some of our friend's tracks down at the beach.

Sadly, it was time to head home. The drive was really lovely on the way back to Madison.

The next morning was my actual birthday. My amazing coworker, Lyz, surprised me with a balloon and a kit to make a felted cat. I can tell she knows me very well already. Jack was not impressed. I also got to open a couple more presents from my parents and Jordan's parents- I felt very loved. 

We went out to get enormous burritos and lemon meringue pie for dinner, then we watched Cabin in the Woods. It wasn't a fancy evening but it was relaxing and Jordan was finally starting to feel better from his weekend illness. 

All in all, it was a really nice birthday weekend. Turning 30 was kind of hard for me. It's amazing how much my life and outlook has changed in a year. New home, new job, new challenges and opportunities. The Parkers are in a good place right now, and I'll do my best to get some of our more recent adventures on here later this week!

Happy birthday, mom!