A French Themed 25th birthday

  I love Tyson's card to me with "Madame" written on it.

       Tyson planned my 25th birthday around a French theme, including Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking", "My life in France" by Julia Child and a reservation at a French Bistro in Georgetown. Most of what he had planned was a complete surprise to me. All I knew was that he had made reservations way in advance for this French Bistro and I was excited.  Tyson brought the book "My life in France" (on my to-read this for YEARS!) home from the library. I fell in love with just the foreword....and couldn't put it down. Being the awesome person that Tyson is, he got an amazing deal on the cookbook from Half.com. So great!
     I really felt spoiled by all the love of family & friends on my special day. It was a wonderful day :) A security guard also called me "Madame" as he held open a door for me and I laughed to myself. Did he know I was celebrating a French birthday?

 The Capitol

Taryn and I headed out to D.C. early in the morning to catch Story time at the Library of Congress. It was freezing! And I didn't feel warm enough with my tights, jeans, sweater, jacket, scarf and gloves on. Bone chilling!!! I had Taryn wrapped in two big blankets, plus her weather guard, hat and big winter jacket. She fell asleep so fast after lunch- I wish I could have been in that stroller with her too- all nice and bundled. We met Tyson after work (about 2pm) and headed to Dolcezza, a gelato shop. After moving back from Italy, we have been disappointed with any gelato we've tried. And out here in D.C. there is a serious lack of good frozen yogurt places. Come on now, D.C- you should know better. But Dolcezza was pretty good and we devoured our gelato. We shared an alfajore (Argentinian cookie) because their shop had an Argentinian influence in their baked goods and home sale items.

 Dulce de Leche & Coconut

 Yum...and look at that curl!

      My fingers were frozen without my gloves, but it was worth it!

Can you tell? This weekend was COLD!!!

       On Saturday before getting ready for our date, our babysitter that we had lined up told us her child had pink eye. We were so happy she told us! But when thinking of a possible sitter on such short notice we started to get sad realizing that EVERYONE we knew who could take Taryn was sick. EVERYONE! I even scrolled through my contacts- not one person. Tyson assured me that children would not be welcome at this small bistro.
      So! Onto plan B! We scarped the idea of the French Bistro, vowing to go later, and decided to visit the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria. But then the metro's were closed for repair from our stop- and Taryn had just fallen asleep in her nice cozy & warm stroller- and because D.C. is dumb and not like Bologna, you have to fold up your stroller on a bus (even when there is no one in it!!!!!!!!!). 
      So! On to plan C! We walked around a bit outside (it was cold & snowed later on but it was just so peaceful to be walking together outside- we didn't mind), got lunch and ate ice cream again because we are crazy like that :)


         I know it started off as a sad day when our plans fell through but we tried to remain calm and happy through it all. We came up with a plan that meant we would be able to spend all day together as a family which made me so happy because getting time with Tyson is super rare and I treasure anything I can get these days! I know it is going to sound cheesy, but all I really wanted was to spend time together- all 3 of us. Simple & sweet.  The weekend was a good pace for us all and Sunday was one of the best Sabbath's we have ever had. We spent time with family (my sis & BIL) to celebrate 3 birthdays (Seth's, Taryn's & mine), all 3 of us took long naps after church, and we had a great walk outside as a family (again, it was cold, but we kept it short.)

Turning 25 on Friday 

I'm going to tell you that I have been struggling with turning 25 for a whole year (or longer). Because 25 to me, has always been the age I started classifiying people as "old." I know, it's funny. But when I was little, my college going/full time working/ married siblings were 25 for years in my head because that's what you do when you are old and 25.
     Flash forward to now and I worried I was going to suddenly be different at 25. I would openly tell everyone that I was scared of turning 25. Not 30, 40, 50 or 60. I could care less about them. A birthday is a fun time and to grow old is ok- more life experiences await me. Why worry about age? Bleh... so why was 25 so hard?!?!
      25 came and I suddenly didn't care anymore. I still felt young. I am completely happy with my life and I am proud of what I have done with my 25 years (1/4 of a century) on this earth. So Mrs. 25, I am taking it and running with it. Don't try to hold me back!!!