Amazing Weather Birthday

My birthday—and what a gorgeous day to start it. Sunshine, coffee in bed, then a quiet soak in the hot tub. Not a bad way to kick things off.

As I was getting ready, after my shower I looked out and spotted a coyote right behind the storage trailer again. S was casually sitting on the deck in his housecoat—wild how bold they have gotten. He grabbed the rifle and took a few shots, possibly just grazing it. Not my favourite moment—I hate seeing that—but the cats come first. He took the ranger out to track it down after.

Birthday messages were rolling in—Joeleen sent one from the Disneyland Hotel. Funny enough, they were at Disneyland Park yesterday, the same day the Paetz’s were there too. Huge place, so of course they didn’t cross paths—but still, small world. They hit a Jays game last night, and the Paetz’s are going tonight.

I packed up the robot vacuum (having issues with water sitting in the tray and soggy mop pads) and headed to town. The post office wouldn’t scan the return label, so packed it back out to the car and over to the drugstore depot—thankfully they printed it and sent it off without issue.

Shaina called while I was driving, so we caught up as I made my way to Starbucks for my birthday drink—landed on a salted caramel cold brew. Then off to grab Cooper and swing by OPA! of Greece for my birthday wrap. The girl even tossed in a free baklava—perks of being a regular.

Back home, I ate, then took my Starbucks along for a dog walk. It was 19 degrees and beautiful—especially knowing rain and even snow were in the forecast again (because it's Alberta). S had been out working the paddock, loading manure into the skid steer and hauling it off to the pit.

I started prepping steaks to bring into the city… only to realize two packs were basically mini steaks (Renn-sized 😄), and the third only had two decent ones. Not going to cut it. Plan scrapped—those went back in the fridge/freezer.

After a quick call with Candace, I packed up drinks and we headed to the city before 2:30. A stop at Costco had us staring at $100 for four steaks—hard pass. We pivoted and grabbed steelhead trout instead.

Traffic was picking up by 3:30, but we made our way west with a quick return stop at Winners before arriving at the Boysis house.

Renn greeted me with the sweetest handmade cards—XOXO. ❤️

The evening was perfect—songs, laughs, and incredible food. Turns out the steak situation didn’t matter anyway—their BBQ was out of propane, so the trout was meant to be. Nathan cooked it beautifully, Kaylin added fresh salad, refreshing gin drinks, and the most delicious cheesecake for dessert.

Honestly—such a thoughtful, lovely way to spend the day. It meant a lot.

So sad I missed the happy birthday singing and playing piano video, I must learn to check I hit play better in the future. But trust me, it was epic!

raspberry cheese cake, yummy!

excited about her kitchen coming to the ranch

Many faces of Renn

We headed out just after 7 so Renn could get settled for bed, then made our way home grabbing the mail on the way by.

Back at the ranch, we unloaded Renn’s kitchen, S settled in for playoff hockey, and I fed Harley and Cooper—then remembered I still needed to order dog food for tomorrow. Got that done just in time.

B popped out to feed and headed off again. I wrapped up and published Sunday’s blog, then tucked into bed with some Apple TV.

I dozed off after 10, woke briefly when S rustled around in the kitchen after 11, then he headed back downstairs. Watched a bit more on my iPad until he finally came up around 12:30—he was out not long after while I watched till after 1.

A few unexpected turns—but an amazing weather day in April. THANK YOU to everyone who sent messages and called for my birthday, it meant a lot. XOXO