Shared Birthdays

Birthdays were far from our minds when we began dating. Duane and I found out later (after I learned how to spell his name correctly) that his birthday is on August 7th and mine is on the 9th. Naturally, Aug. 8th has become an exciting day for us.

I thought it would be fun to share some of our birthday adventures this year! For Duane's birthday (on which day he did go to work, sweet thing) one of the highlights was a gift card to his new favorite store.






Duane found this "Brain Fitness" store in downtown Chicago a few weeks after we moved in. In about 10 minutes after entering the store, he was playing a brain game with the store clerk and I knew he had found a store just for Duane.

If you are wondering what a "brain fitness" store would have, I did too. Here is from their website:

"This first-of-its-kind retail store caters to those with a desire to keep brain functions sharp and enthused. With interactive games, hands-on activities, brain teasers, trivia, challenging books, interesting puzzles, word recall and more they encourage critical thinking, memory, word skills, visual perception and coordination."

The second part of Duane's gift was a complete acrylic paint set, which we enthusiastically shared that evening over some strawberry rhubarb pie.

Usually I wouldn't indulge, but since this is my blog: Duane is amazing.

I can say it several times: Duane is amazing at art, Duane is amazing at computers, Duane is an amazing companion and spouse, Duane is Amazing! His two pictures are on the right and left, mine is in the middle.



For my birthday, we had a blast hanging out with Joel and Crystal who just happened to be in town for a "Young Democrats" convention. We went out to eat, and then did a truly Kelty activity: visiting the aquarium.



Once this beautiful baby is no longer in my belly, I am hoping to volunteer here to work with the large mammals. Sadly, right now the two things that I have cautioned against are : scuba diving and horseback riding. ahhh baby, someday you'll appreciate the sacrifices!



Thanks to Joel's ingenuity, we squeezed into the aquarium show where the dolphins and beluga whales showcased some of their abilities. It was amazing.

but I digress.


I feel very blessed in my life to have these kind of opportunities. Not only can I celebrate my birthday in peace, I live day to day without having to fear losing my husband to violence, and having enough to eat and clean water to drink. I hope someday I can make these blessings available to more people in the world. I would imagine it would be impossible to celebrate if a person is hungry.

Thanks for checking into my blog!