Shad's BIG Birthday Weekend!

Shad's birthday weekend was a HUGE success!! It was everything and more we could've hoped for!

First off, Shad PASSED the Bar Exam!! Yes, that's right, he's awesome. Its one BIG step closer to landing that big-time lawyer job we are hoping and praying for! He worked extremely hard at passing the bar exam and it paid off!! I am so grateful for a husband who works hard at studying, schooling, and work.

This is how we spent our weekend: On early Friday afternoon we left Owen (for the FIRST time overnight) with grandma and grandpa and drove down to Portland, OR! After a nice, scenic and somewhat silent drive without Owen there, we arrived about three in the afternoon. We got to spend the afternoon and evening with some dear friends from our BYU married ward, the Terrazas. They were awesome enough to let Shad and I stay there for the night so that on Saturday afternoon we could attend to BYU vs. Oregon State game. It was fun to play games, talk, and reminisce with them about our Provo days and talk about where life has taken us since then.

Shad with David:
Me and Rachel:
David and Rachel's ADORABLE kiddos!

Shad and I decided to take advantage of our kid-free night on Friday and enjoy a date night out downtown. Neither of us had really been to/explored Portland before. Recently we saw an episode of 'Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives' featuring a restaurant in Portland called Blueplate. So, we decided to go there! Shad had their NW sliders and I just kept it simple with a GIANT Cesar salad. We enjoyed the experience. The place was TINY, but had a unique feel to it. They made their own sodas, which were yummy, and kept everything to a "northwest" feel. Overall, I'd say we'd recommend it!

My salad (After I'd already eaten a good portion):
Shad's Sliders:

Saturday after having a fun, lazy morning with our friends we said our goodbyes and took the 1 and 1/2 hour drive down to Corvallis to arrive JUST before the game started. Too bad parking took FOREVER, so we missed a bit of the first quarter. But we found our seats and thoroughly enjoyed every second of the game.

It was a nice stadium. Good scenic views.

At half-time we found out that Shad had passed to bar! We called home to check in on Owen, to be informed that the news had arrived in the mail! At this point, the game was tied, so that happy news helped ease our anxiety a little bit!

Shad and I were surrounded by Oregon State Fans, with only a few Cougars around here and there. So... We weren't as loud as we normally would have been! Even though our seats were high up and in a sea of Orange, I feel as though we had good seats. And were treated pretty well by Oregon State fans.


After we had realized that we had this game in the bag with a SURE victory... with about 2 minutes left Shad and I headed down to the BYU section to celebrate with our fellow COUGARS and COSMO!
28-38 COUGARS WIN!!!! Awesome.
So. Much. Fun.

We got home late Saturday night, and woke up Sunday to be happily reunited with Owen! I missed him so much! But he did GREAT with grandma and grandpa and is so lucky to have wonderful grandparents that he LOVES so much (and vice versa!). :)

We topped off the weekend with a small group of friends and family on Sunday evening with dinner and pumpkin pie, Shad's traditional birthday treat!

Happy Birthday Shad, here's to your LAST year in your 20s!!!!!! Love you!