Landmark Birthday

Today is my father-in-law's 60th birthday. It's funny how sixty is not old any more. I think "old" might be defined as one generation beyond your parents. For me it is, at least. When my mom was thirty, fifty was old. Now that she's in the fifties, the seventies are old. But soon the eighties will be. I realize I am old, too, in the eyes of some. In fact, I was referred to as a lady the other day. As in some high schooler saying, "that lady over there...", talking about me. Somehow I think girl should be the pronoun, but I think I'm in for many more lady comments. Anyways, about the birthday...

We had a fun weekend getaway to celebrate. Jonathan's sister, Anna, and I had been planning this for a long time. It was technically a surprise, but based on the few hints we gave (pack outdoor gear & swimsuits), I'm 99.9% certain John had it figured out long ago. We met as a family at our house Saturday morning and hit the road on our adventure.

Here is Jono's dad with our invitation & the granddaughters.

First stop: Silver Mountain, Idaho. We booked a sweet condo at the ski lodge for the night.

After checking in, we hit the road toward Wallace, Idaho where we went on one of the coolest hikes I've experienced. The Pulaski Trial follows the route of Ed Pulaski, a heroic forest service ranger, as he guided 45 fireman to safety in an abandoned mine during the Great Fire of 1910. My father-in-law (an avid reader and walking excyclopedia) read a book about it (The Big Burn) and had been talking about taking the hike as a family. It was a beautiful trail (only four miles total) and I would definitely recommend it to anyone within a day's drive of Wallace :)!

We came back and had a great evening together. We had a "make your own calzone" bar for dinner and this ridiculous chocolate cake, pictured below. If you are obsessed with peanut butter and chocolate, like we are (and Jonathan's dad), you will faint with love for this cake.

In the morning we took a walk through Kellogg and enjoyed a little sunshine (the forecast said rain, and I'm thankful they were wrong!). I don't know if there is a human alive who can walk by a playground with a teeter-totter and choose to refrain from tottering. We certainly couldn't.

Then we had breakfast and presented John with his birthday present: a book of letters from friends & family, near and far. It had been a long project but was worth every second. He loved it! The craziest part? I counted all the letters and there were sixty. Exactly.

Before heading home, we went to the amazing new water park at the resort. If I were five years old, I'm pretty sure the place would be heaven. We'll have to go back when the girls are a bit older. Even at their age they loved it. So did Jonnycakes. And everyone else.

It was a memorable weekend. Lovely in every way.