We’ve been lucky. In almost 12 years of marriage, Handsome has never missed a Christmas or kids’ birthday — which is a small miracle considering how frequently deployments and training trips take him out of town.

My birthday is another story; almost always a casualty of his military schedule. We’ve only spent 4 together. So this weekend, when a lovely friend offered to watch both our kids for the night Handsome jumped at the chance to make this birthday special.

I woke to snugglebugs in bed and roses from my love.
 

Songbird offered to make us lunch and then the kids and I shared birthday chocolates.
 

My seat of honor was decked with a bow and he never sleeps on me anymore. Best. Ever.
 

3 hour roadtrip with Handsome at the helm, watching the colors blaze by.
 

Washington D.C. dressed in the glory of fall and an afternoon in the National Gallery of Art.
 

Got to see the only di Vinci painting in the Americas and admire Renoir.
 

Traipsing through an art museum with Handsome is very entertaining. He finds humor in things I would have otherwise missed and keeps me from taking ‘real art’ too seriously.

Like baby Jesus flipping the bird and the birth of the “westside” gang sign (circa 1500).
 

I listened to the adult audio tour, but he liked the kids version. Doesn’t this resemble Bug?
 

Degas ballerinas and my favorite painting of the day— like a 17th century candid Instagram.
 

Matching lunches in the sculpture garden before we checked into a fancy downtown hotel.
 

Does this room mean I’m gonna get lucky? Only in D.C. can you potty with the presidents!
 

Handsome surprised me with a trip to the spa and then I got my game face on.
 

We walked hand in hand under trees wrapped in lights to dinner. Lobster bisque, steak and cake.
 

On the way home we wandered the aisles of Ikea… kidless. Yeeessss!!!

It was the best birthday in years! So far, thirty-three agrees with me. :)