16 candles + 10

I accomplished another full year of living, which brings my grand total to 26. Lucky for me, I have not had any spontaneous arthritis, need for a hip replacement, or found any grey hair. However, I'm 26 now, and I fully realize I will need to monitor for those types of things from here on out.

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To celebrate such a joyous and monumental occasion-- aka the 5th Anniversary Party of My 21st Birthday-- Ben and I decided to head  north to DeCabin in Winter, WI. We left Thursday, and after a pit stop in LM, showed up at the Leinenkugel's Brewery by 3:30 on the dot. We got our tour on (with a crowd of 4 other people), wrote postcards, and sipped 5 different beer samples. Life was good.

Then the TomTom got us lost. Then we got ourselves found. Then we continued to DeCabin.

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part of the goofy zoo puzzle

The next day, my parentals showed up with their pup, Eko. We didn't do much of anything on Friday... other than go for a Friday Fish Fry at the Wannigan, watch movies (What About Bob!), play games (which I managed to win every single one...), put together a crazy puzzle (that ended up missing a piece in the center), walk around the edges of the lake (because I figured I would fall through or a muskie would fly thru and eat me), and drink wine.

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Saturday, we went for breakfast "downtown" at The Hotel. It was the first time since we got up there that either Ben or I had an Internet connection (but still no cell service). No cell/Internet is fantastic!! After breakfast, we took a little trip up to Hayward, WI. On the way, we stopped at the LCO Casino and played 5 cent Wizard of Oz slot machines. I won five bucks on a spin, which apparently flipped a competative switch in my mom, because she immediately went ahead and won 8 bucks on her 5 cent spin. Typical.

mom with Hook Stone wine to open in the summer!

After winning big at the casino, we did some wine sampling at Hook Stone Winery. We bought a bottle to bring back to LM and open sometime in the summer so that my birthday will continue to last throughout the year. Then we stopped by The Angry Minnow Brew Pub and shared a paddle of their craft beer.



beer samples at The Angry Minnow



After the Hayward trip, it seemed like a good idea to make a gigantic bonfire.... even though it was negative something degrees outside. So Ben and my dad created a 5-alarm fire with gasoline and pallets, and then Ben and Eko shot off some fireworks. I think the macho fire was to prove that they COULD make a fire... since they weren't able to do a dam[n] thing about the fireplace inside....

2 men, 1 fireplace, 1 goal

the birthday tiara and matching earrings

Since my 'rents were leaving in the morning, my mom made a steak birthday dinner Saturday night. It was dee-lish. I was even allowed to wear the AMAZING plastic earrings that went with my birthday tiara to dinner... even though it wasn't my bday yet. Because a birthday tiara is exactly what every [twenty-]six year old needs.

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Anywho, Sunday was my official birthday. I woke up with the sun shinning and birds/butterflies fluttering around and Ben singing a gorgeous melody in a deep and soulful voice while on one knee..........then I woke up from that dream to Eko's wet nose and sloppy tongue on my face. A few cinnamon rolls and a shower later, and it was time for me to wait impatiently by the duck phone for my grandma to call and sing me happy birthday. Because it's what she does every year, solely because she is awesome. 

mom signing the bottle

I wore my tiara and earrings that day, we popped a little pink bubbly, and I turned 26 like a champ.





one of the bottles Ben & I
got in NY on our anv roadtrip!

 

In other birthday related news, Ben bought a strange pie and some candles when we first got to Winter. We ate half the pie right away. The second half we saved for my actually bday. Since there weren't enough candles, a couple of scented pillar candles completed the distraught-looking mess of a bday cake display. It took awhile for Ben to light all the candles, and then I forced him to sing to me. After I blew out all the candles my first attempt, we lit them all again so Ben could prove that he was able to blow them all out in one breath, too.

definition of a beautiful disaster

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By the time Ben and I left, neither of us had any idea what was going on in the world or exactly how many days we had spent at DeCabin. It was lovely.

We stopped in LM on our way back to MKE for some birthday margaritas in Mexico (aka the Mexican restaraunt in town) with Jessica. Brianna and Weiner happened to be in the area at the same time, and stopped by to join us. It was a mini fiesta! Brianna told the waiter that it was my birthday. He asked me if I wanted a tequila shot or a shooter. Well HELL! Tequila shots and I end up making bad life decisions together, but I've always gotten along with a shooter. So I asked for a shooter. He brought me a fried cinnamon stick in a glass of whip cream... a "churro."

birthday "shooter"

Life Lesson from a Quarter Life Crisis: You know you're geting old when you turn down a shot and ask for dessert. And the whip cream on that fried cinnamon stick? The fact that you didn't hear the waiter correctly in the first place.

Here's to 26.


xoxo, b