our weekend: a birthday, a farm, and a date

Stella and I celebrated Brett's 31st birthday Friday with a grilled dinner and a Dairy Queen cake, which Brett loves. Stella was so excited about the cake and the fact that we had bought balloon candles. When I bought the candles at Target, she wanted to hold the package, and of course started taking them out, one by one. Two year olds, I tell ya.

She had fun coloring the flowers, and as she scribbled, she explained she was writing, "Stella Joy."

She said she was drawing butterflies

Earlier in the week, I had pre-registered the three of us for breakfast at Gale Woods Farm in Minnetrista, MN, so we headed out there Saturday morning. After eating, we explored the barn and other farm attractions. Stella got to pet a calf, a sheep, a Pyrennes dog; see chickens and roosters; and run around in a commons area with a farm cat.

During this video, you can hear another dad warning his kid about not walking in cow poop. Ha.

My parents took Stella over night so that Brett and I could eat out for Brett's birthday and take our time. We ate at a really nice Mexican restaurant called Masa, which is on Nicollet downtown. The food was so good! I ordered sea bass on a bed of lime cilantro rice, and Brett enjoyed enchiladas con carne. We also ordered two appetizers: one was calamari on black rice (Brett is more the fan of calamari than I am - I'm not so into the texture) as well as guacamole with vegetables for dipping. 

After dinner, we headed over to uptown, and Brett got some pour-over coffee goodness from Dogwood Cafe; we browsed Majors and Quinn, and then capped the evening at French Meadow Bakery outside for dessert. Happy birthday, my dear Brett. :)