this week is my parent's birthday week. with our busy schedule and travel plans we are not able to celebrate with them on the actual day. instead, we decided to have a memorial day birthday picnic last weekend. am so happy that i tossed my plastic cameras in my purse as we headed out the door. in addition to my parents birthdays we also had jon's mom and brother turn a year wiser this past week. we always enjoy gathering our spring birthdays for a big celebration. jon's dad strummed his uke while we all sang off key in the sunshine. then we enjoyed mini cupcakes and watermelon. we feel very blessed that our parents mesh so well and that we have become one big happy family.

my mom is my most loyal blog reader. she will call me after she reads a new post to tell me her observations and to ask more questions. i don't think she knows how much i love this. she is also the first to call me out when i haven't posted regularly and tell me to stop being lazy. she didn't have a computer for the first year and half that i was writing the blog, so she has had plenty of catching up to do! sometimes she will call to compliment or question a post i wrote over a year ago. this makes me feel so loved. it shows me how invested she is in my happiness and creative journey. i love her very much!  happy birthday mom! 

and then there is my dad who is also a huge fan of our work and a man who keeps us guessing. he is very wise and full of knowledge from laying tile, gardening, brewing beer and fishing. in the last couple years he decided to learn to play guitar. he has a deep appreciation for jon's guitar skills and always wants a lesson when he comes to visit. i hope i never stop learning new things just like him. my parent's surprised us when they decided to get a dog after they retired a few years ago. our family had never actually decided to get a pet. animals would just wander into our lives, stray and pregnant. so to choose a breed and search for the perfect dog was something i had never experienced. they decided on a corgi and found abigail through the want ads. it was love at first sight.

have a great birthday on thursday dad! we will be thinking of you and abby out on your birthday walk.  play the guitar and make abby sing to you! i love you!