board games and a big birthday

Things we've been up to since Easter:

• Celebrating Dan's 30th(!!) birthday with a weekend visit from his parents. I baked a chocolate cake with white frosting, as usual, and decorated it badly, as usual. But it still tasted great (as usual)! We had tickets to a baseball game on Saturday, which unfortunately was cancelled after a 4+ hour rain delay. Other than watching less baseball, it wasn't much different than going to an actual game. We still got to eat ballpark food and hang out for a few hours, which is my favorite part anyways!

• Curing diseases with Pandemic and building cities with Carcassonne, the new board games that Dan got for Easter and his birthday. I particularly like Pandemic since the players work together to beat the board instead of competing against each other. It's a nice change from always losing to Dan who is super good at board game strategy.

• Playing Rock Band with Kathy, Jason, Elena, and Darown. This game may have fallen in popularity since its initial surge, but it is still so, so fun. We also enjoyed a delicious smoked turkey, courtesy of chef Jason.

• Finishing the installation of our new closet shelving. This closet is wide but has a narrow door, so it was difficult to retrieve anything from deep into the left side. I removed the original shelf several weeks ago, accidentally knocking out a fair bit of plaster in the process. After a crash course in replastering, a few coats of paint and primer, and a few hours of shelf-hanging, we have a much more functional closet.

• Sewing this bench cushion for Dan's parents' beach house. I followed a tutorial from Pretty Handy Girl, but this project was still a nightmare resulting in multiple puddles of tears. It's done and looks decent, but I'm so glad to be finished with it!

• Making this little potholder for Kathy's birthday gift. I had been wanting to try this cute tutorial from Nana Company, and the fabric was perfect for Kathy who makes such delicious cupcakes! My stitching is a little wiggly in some parts, but I'm still happy with it.

We're all booked up for the next few weekend with lots of fun activities. I just need to find some time to plant my flowers and garden soon!