Isaac’s 40th Birthday!

Isaac turned 40 on Wednesday, and his quarantine birthday was one we will always remember! I could not host the big party I had been dreaming up, and we had to postpone our trip to Europe— the gift that would have boosted Isaac’s “countries visited” count up to 40 (we love a good symbolic connection in this family!). Admittedly, this milestone did not look anything like we had planned, but it was better than anything I could have hoped for, and my heart is overflowing with gratitude to the hundreds of friends and family who came together to help me pull off a surprise that left Isaac feeling SO MUCH LOVE on his birthday!

Birthdays call for festive decor in our family, and the kids and I had so much fun making this beachy banner for Isaac! Isla and Cole painted sheets of paper in ocean hues and I just love how they turned out! To maintain consistency with our decor, we also used some of the leftover paintings for a spunky little 40 (complete with party hat) and Cole’s card for Isaac.

Isla took a little inspiration from my hand cut lettering to make her own sign for her Daddo!

Our morning started in the most glorious way possible for parents with small children— sleeping in! Thank you, Nana! We enjoyed a round of Beachy Marys, sweet potato hash with hollandaise, and the most incredible bacon (thanks to Isaac’s brother and the fine folks at Beaux Freres Winery) for brunch.

My mom gave Isaac a bunch of his favorite Costco-sized staples (there are few things this man loves more than natural peanut butter) and surprised him by paying a speeding ticket he didn’t know he had received earlier this spring. We all had a good laugh over her unique gift.

Of course the cats immediately found the empty gift boxes.

It didn’t take much longer for the kids to find them too!

After brunch we headed out into the sunshine for some play time on the beach. The weather was absolute perfection!

We couldn’t resist recreating a favorite photo from the kids from last year on Isaac’s birthday. Stop growing so fast, babies!

That afternoon the birthday boy went out and took a nap in the sunshine while I prepped our dinner— tacos, of course!

Isaac’s brother, Christopher, and his family put together a personalized collection of albums that represented each decade of Isaac’s life. To give the full record store effect they created mini store in a box– complete with incense and labeled album dividers. It was such an incredible and memory-filled gift!

After dinner and cake we made our way down to the beach to walk and watch the stunning sunset.

Once the kiddos were in bed, we popped some bubbly and I surprised Isaac with a slideshow of video messages from friends and family from around the world and every stage of his life. With this milestone birthday looking fairly different than we had imagined, it was my hope that this video would help Isaac feel deeply, deeply loved. All I can say is, mission accomplished!!! It is hard to find adequate words to express just how much it meant to both of us to have so many loved ones take the time to share such heartfelt, genuine, and often hilarious sentiments with Isaac– thank you, thank you, thank you, from the bottom of our hearts! This is a gift we will both cherish for the rest of our lives.

A number of people have asked to see the completed video, so we’ve included it below. With nearly 200 individual greetings, this slideshow quickly gained feature film length, so you might want to pour yourself a drink and pop a little popcorn before you hit the play button!