The Kiwi Chronicles: Happy Birthday to Steve!

Steve celebrated #41 a few weeks ago. What a handsome husband I have! He is still looking very youthful, if you ask me. He says he'll start to feel officially old when his elderly patients at work stop seeming astonished when he walks into the room and they realize that he is their "real" doctor. :)

Steve's birthday actually fell on the same day that Luke and Landon started kindy. It was an exciting day all around!

Since Steve had to work a late shift that day, he opened his presents in the morning. I had picked up a few things at the Red Zone store in Utah which specializes in University of Utah merchandise. I've had a few strike-outs in the past when giving Steve clothes, but this time he loved everything.

A sticker for Big Red!

One thing that Steve and I both love to do is write each other homemade cards or letters on special days. No matter how serious and sappy we get, we often include some sort of inside joke that might be embarrassing for some of you readers, so it's probably best that I not post the card I composed...but I thought I'd share what the older kids wrote to Steve. I am so pleased that our kids have grown to appreciate the value of a nice, sincere, hand-written card as well…it's one of my favorite family traditions.

After Steve took off for work, I whipped up his favorite treat in the whole world -- homemade chocolate-chip cookies:

Hello, my name is Mindy, and I love to eat raw cookie dough. I think it's better than the actual cookie. Don't judge me.

When I asked Steve what he wanted to eat for his birthday dinner (which we shared the night after his birthday), he said, "Surprise me." After being married to this man for 17 years, I have learned that his favorite kind of meal involves something saucy and flavorful served over rice. Throw in some shrimp and a kick of spice, and that would make it even more perfect. I found a recipe for a spicy shrimp coconut curry sauce, served over hot jasmine rice. It was a slam dunk!