Birthday Recap from Andrew’s Perspective.

I think they ran 12 miles @ 8:04 average pace.

So… I don’t know how well you all know Janae, but February 13th is one of the most important days in our household. Before Janae, I didn’t know birthdays were such an important piece of history and it is required to be celebrated and announced to all we come in contact with, whether it be the barista at Dutch Brothers, the retail worker at Lululemon, or just about anyone that breathes in the nearby vicinity. Don’t get me wrong, I love birthdays (especially when Janae came into my life), but I would rather celebrate with a few close ones in secret haha. Anyways… birthdays are stressful, I would rather take a crashing patient in the ICU than try to plan the perfect birthday again… haha just kidding. Yesterday was amazing, minus one thing…

Janae started the morning off early, like always, with her running crew. I am not a morning person, I have never been – so I did a little pre-birthday decorating late last night and finished at 12:30 am. Janae came home to a few presents and a counter full of letters. One of our favorite traditions is to have the kids write birthday letters to us and it is really fun to see what they say and how the letters change over the years.

We got all the kids to school, and we ran up to Salt Lake for some birthday shopping a the mall. I have never met a little boy that LOVES going to the mall. He kept picking out clothes and giving it to Janae.

Beck doesn’t stay still, let alone give long hugs. But today was different; he was buttering up the birthday girl all day. I’m sure he knew that many treats, cake, and ice cream were on the way – he was making sure that he was going to get some.

For the first half of the day it was just us three. I know Beck knew it was a special day because he was perfect, even when he was 3 hours late to his nap time, he was still going strong, enjoying all the spoils of birthday celebrations.

If we are ever in Salt Lake, we always try to eat at a new place. THIS PLACE DID NOT DISAPPOINT. We went to a small Italian place called, Sicilia Mia. We got the Bruschetta and we got…

The pasta carbonara with some really really old cheese…

and finally, Beck got some spaghetti with red sauce, and Janae got a dish that had meatballs, lamb and so much other goodness. We absolutely loved this place!!! Our server was from Romania and told us all about his family and home.

Now, do you remember how much I was telling you about stress? Well, this was it – I thought it would be an awesome idea to google search “The Best Banana Cream Pie,” and make it from scratch. I thought I would score some major points with Janae. I also thought I was pretty good in the kitchen, well…. not everything goes to plan. I think this recipe was a recipe from Hell. Here it is: (https://preppykitchen.com/banana-cream-pie/) for those who are brave enough or those who are just WAY better in the kitchen than I am. It started all alright, then I didn’t cook the filling enough so it was just soup and I tried to thicken it with whipped cream, that did not work at all.

Despite what it looks like, these are not brownies. This is a crust burnt to a crisp because I forgot it was in the oven. Once again – very humbling experience. I’ll stick to the boxed cake mixes for now on.

Luckily for me, the kids, and especially Janae…. Janae’s mom brought over some Magleby’s famous chocolate cake. Janae’s mom must of known that with my cooking something was going to go wrong – so she saved the day. As you can see Janae didn’t want to wait and already had a chunk of birthday cake.

After an exciting and successful day of birthday celebrations, we all got into bed and watched America’s Funniest Home Videos. It was an AMAZING day, and we all made it through alive. Now there is only 364 more days until the most important day of next year. Please note, I’m being a bit dramatic😂


Do you like to be the center of all attention for birthday celebrations? Or would you rather celebrate behind the scenes?

What birthday was your absolute favorite? What do you remember about it?

What is the best gift you have ever received for your birthday?

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23 comments

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I’m similar to you, Andrew. I prefer a behind the scenes, quiet birthday celebration for myself. I don’t tell anyone it’s my birthday, only family and close friends know. But I love going all out for other people’s birthdays and making them feel loved!

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I am like Janae. My mom always made a big deal out of birthdays growing up and I want that to continue 🤣. She would hide my presents and leave me clues in order to find them. It was awesome! My birthday is July 4th, so I never have to work!!

Had a great run today until my Garmin died during my last set of intervals 🙇🏼‍♀️.

Next race is the NYC Half Marathon next month 🗽. Excited to go back to NYC for another race

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I am very much like you, Andrew- all about celebrating others but I HATE having the attention on me. Last year that backfired on me- I didn’t tell any of my students or co-workers (I’m a teacher) that it was my birthday and they found out at the end of the day. My students were so disappointed so the next day they did a big celebration at their recess, which was super sweet. I’m so glad Janae had such a great birthday and enjoyed all the love and celebration from y’all!

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Andrew, it sounds like a fantastic day! Even if the pie was a failure, you tried and that is so nice! And how sweet Beck was all day.
I think I’m in the middle…. It’s nice to have friends and family wish you a happy birthday, but I definitely don’t need to be center of attention.
Well done Andrew!

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Behind the scenes for sure!
Best birthday was my 25th – me and 2 of my best friends drove from Ohio to Toronto Canada to go to a motorcycle show where Charley Boorman was a guest. He is really good friends with Ewan McGregor & they rode their motorbikes around the world and made a TV show and book about their experiences. Meeting Charley was so so cool.
Best birthday gift I’ve ever was my Epiphone acoustic guitar – it was totally unexpected and I was so surprised and grateful to receive it.

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Andrew, you are so wonderful to go to those lengths to try and make the day so special for Janae. You two have such a beautiful relationship. Cooking and baking are HARD. I give you credit for just trying a banana cream pie.
I’m glad it was a wonderful day for you all.

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I like to make a big deal out of my birthday now, but usually that means I’m planning everything still. I still need to figure out what to do this year. My birthday is Easter Sunday this year.

This was a fun post to read from Andrew’s perspective.

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SO funny . loved this post…Happy Happy Birthday..

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I HATE having all the attention on me, it is so embarrassing. My best birthday was my 40th when I was in quarantine for Covid exposure. No pressure to celebrate and an easy out for all invitations :)

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Hahaha I am so glad you were able to stay away from everyone for your 40th;). Your birthday wish came true! Hope you have a beautiful day, Mindy!

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What a fantastic post! Good job Andrew!

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You’re a real one Andrew!! What a sweet day!

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I am just like Janae, so reading this really made me feel for my husband. He also married into a family who celebrates birthMONTH and expects everything to be special. The first year we were married I told him I didn’t need anything, and he quickly learned that was a lie (I’m not talking giant presents, just feeling special)! Haha – looks like you did a great job, Andrew! Happy continued birthweek, Janae! And Happy Valentine’s Day!

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You are so great for doing all of that! My 40th is on Saturday and I hate birthdays. Especially mine, and also my children’s. The expectations are the worst! It’s so great you see that celebration of a birthday is important to Janae though, and make her day special! Enjoy these relaxing 364 days… ;)

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ALLISON! Happy happy 40th on Saturday! I hope it is spent and celebrated exactly the way that works best for you! Hahaha he feels like he took off a weighted backpack today;)

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Great post, Andrew! I was a little confused that I was to the question portion because they were not in colored font ;)

We’ve been talking about birthdays the past few days because Les is turning 60 in August and I had a friend ask if I was doing a party. Nope. We definitely prefer getting away, just the two of us. I do like getting all the freebies.

The day after my 27th birthday is probably my favorite. Les and I were one month away from getting married and my job gave me a going away party. I had been the secretary at our private school for years. Les had been in town over the weekend, but he supposedly had gone home. That Monday morning the entire school celebrated me and inside a big package was Les! (https://mcmomentsandmemories.blogspot.com/2011/04/precious-moment-04291991.html) Les was definitely the best gift ever!

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Looks like you pulled off quite the special birthday! Even with the dessert flop – pretty sure the effort counts for a LOT. That is impressive that you tried a pie crust from scratch too! The cards from the kids is such a sweet idea. I love my birthday, and like to celebrate it all month, but mostly with just an “it’s MY month” mentality & maybe a few treats, versus actual celebrations/going out/presents. My husband LOVES going out for his birthday, mostly because it’s another excuse to checkout a new restaurant. We have definitely had to train each other on how to ‘properly’ celebrate each others’ birthdays. :)

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Happy birthday, Janae!!

I strongly dislike any outside attention for my birthday! My friends tried to throw me a surprise party once, and thankfully it was a small group of peeps but I was in my pajamas and ready for bed when everyone showed up because my husband could not get me out of the house.

I vividly remember my 10th bday and my dad buying me roses and it made me feel so special. My husband did the same thing for our daughter when she turned 10 and it was the sweetest.

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Andrew you are amazing! Happy birthday Janae! My daughter shared the same birthday as you and she just turned one!!!

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I loved the write up Andrew! Thank you for doing this and great job . It is always super fun to get your perspective. :-) I hope you had an awesome birthday Janae! Looked absolutely perfect.

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Happy birthday Janae. You and Andrew are such incredible parents, partners, mentors, athletes and all around humans. Great job on the planning and celebrating!! I like low key birthdays spent on mountain trails with good friends and a few treats.

Have the best evening and year ahead!!

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I like quiet…..family, maybe few friends afterwards…and, well, I was a January 1st baby, so there’s always run..I just keep wishing someone wold have a Warren’s January 1st Run?….
Best was turning 50, after that day’s run, a get together with lots of friends…..I like that…that felt good….and a friend gave me a 6 pack filled with Scotish Beer….
though, the night I turned 18, though long long ago, was pretty sweet

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I HATE Birthdays and any kind of attention. My family knows not to acknowledge my birthday and after 15 years of marriage my inlays are finally getting it. Birthdays are not an achievement so they should never be celebrated. I think this might be an Aquarius thing. My husbands birthday is Feb 10 and has declared February to be his Birthday month. Yep. He celebrates his birthday everyday in February and now that we have a 2 year old she wants to sing happy birthday every single day and blow candles. Thankfully February has only 28 days.

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