Destroy This Birthday!

This is my birthday gift this morning from my husband. It is just so delicious. Records for my birthday. Records for Christmas, records for our wedding anniversary, records for valentine's day, records for Halloween. What does James want for his birthday, oh...records. Turntables are not hooked up yet. What's on tonight's list of things to unpack and set up in our new awesome home? Decks.

And I'll just tell you this, even though this is not really a parenting blog, I spent yesterday evening hiking with my three boys in the woods behind our new place. It was freaking magical. We found the trail on Monday and then decided to go into the woods yesterday. The trail stars with a steep downhill path in a meadowy clearing. At the base of the hill is a gateway formed by vines and tree branches. It is literally a curved gateway directly over the path that all of us except the babe had to duck under. That was our entry into the woods. My boys decided to call it The Darkness; they used to call a patch of woods on Indiana University's campus the same name, so that is being carried on for us here in Ann Arbor. We hiked through those woods, finding decomposing trees, patches of flourishing lowlying plants on the forest floor, and a run off on its way to the Huron River. It was so delightful to watch my boys find Daddy-Long-Legs, toss rocks, and run across the concrete portion of the run off like it was a half pipe (that's what they called it, no influence from me!). And the babe, 22 months and trudging through those woods like he's a professional trudger. Pumping those arms to keep up with those big brothers of his. I am so grateful to have such beautiful abundance just past our backyard.