Now, on to the main part of my birthday “weekend” that happened in the middle of the week. Josh took me to a cabin in Hocking Hills, and on Wednesday, we went kayaking! Kayaking is something I actually told him I wanted to do and I was so excited! I had never kayaked before, but you’ve probably seen me rave about the last few times I’ve gone canoeing, and I absolutely LOVED it. I love being out on the water, soaking up sun, and enjoying the peaceful surroundings paired with the constant challenge of paddling and steering to the best place in the river. For this trip, we kayaked nine miles and just to mix it up, we took our pup Ellee! She loved the water, and definitely made the trip more interesting! We bought her a little doggie life jacket, which I’m so glad we did, because we spent lots of time using the handle on the top to hoist her out of the water and into our kayak when she would swim from one of us to the other. So much fun! Note to self, if you’re a first time kayaker… don’t forget to put sunscreen on your thighs. I loaded up on my face and shoulders, but forgot that my legs would also be baking in the sun at the perfect angle for four hours… so they’re just a little crispy. 😉

And then finally last night– dinner out with Josh and two of our bests. We went to Figlio in Grandview, one of my favorite restaurants (they give you ALL the bread with olive oil and herbs… I’m sold right there), and then walked around town and hit a few more places for coffee and chocolate. The grand finale of the evening was the carrot cake and more coffee at Columbus Fish Market, which if you haven’t seen their carrot cake… just go get it. Stop whatever you’re doing and go get some. It’s the biggest piece of cake you’ve seen in your life, and fed the four of us no problem. So delicious!

It’s weeks like this that I’m so appreciative of all the wonderful people I have in my life, especially Josh. I’ve pulled the but it’s my BIRTHDAY card several times this week with no regrets, and I know that I’ll do the same for them when it’s their turn. It’s fun to celebrate each other, laugh together, and do something fun you’ve never done before. Be a little adventurous, or not. Anyone have any awesome birthday stories they want to share? Leave them in the comments; I’d love to hear them!