It was Mark's birthday this past weekend and we had a little barbecue to celebrate. Nothing big or fancy. Mark's kind of anti-birthday party; not so much because he doesn't like getting older but more because he doesn't like people making a big deal or feeling like they have to get him presents. He would be perfectly happy if I did nothing for his b-day.
I do not understand this mentality.
It's your birthday! The one day of the year that is all about you! Embrace it! And presents?! Bring 'em on, the more the merrier!
Mark didn't want anything for his birthday but I completely ignored him and got him something. And he loved it. Check it out:
Cornhole boards! Aren't they awesome?! Mark and his buddies love to play cornhole and now that we have a big backyard, we can actually have a set of our own! I looked at sets online but they were over $100 and Mark would have killed me if I'd spent that much on his birthday gift. Luckily, this site has complete directions and measurements for making your own boards. No, I did not build them myself -- I'm not that skilled although I'll admit that I thought about trying it for 2.2 seconds until reality kicked in. My sister-in-law's dad is quite handy and he whipped these bad boys up out of scrap lumber in his yard. I painted them and made the bags (Bronco blue and orange!) and -ta da!- the backyard gets a little more fun.
On the actual day of his birthday, Caleb and I wanted to surprise Mark so I set up all his gifts in the bedroom, put up a little "Happy Birthday" bunting that I'd made (also in BSU colors)
and then Caleb and I kept watch, looking out the window and waiting for Mark's car to pull up.
When we saw him pulling into the drive we made a mad dash to the bedroom, crouched down behind the bed and then popped up and yelled "Happy Birthday!" when Mark walked in. Caleb thought it was fabulous.
Here are the boards in action at the barbecue.
Everyone was impressed by my mad painting skillz.
And I had to share the cake. Mark doesn't really like sweets (his idea of dessert is leftovers) so when his mom asked what she should make for his cake, I picked what I wanted since I knew Mark wouldn't care.
It was a pineapple-upside down cake and it was delicious. However, there was no frosting to write "Happy Birthday" with so I made some mini BSU bunting to string over the cake and make it a little festive. I thought it was cute.
We had a good time! Hung out with friends, drank some beers, ate some food. 
Some of us ate a lot of food. As usual.
Cornhole boards! Aren't they awesome?! Mark and his buddies love to play cornhole and now that we have a big backyard, we can actually have a set of our own! I looked at sets online but they were over $100 and Mark would have killed me if I'd spent that much on his birthday gift. Luckily, this site has complete directions and measurements for making your own boards. No, I did not build them myself -- I'm not that skilled although I'll admit that I thought about trying it for 2.2 seconds until reality kicked in. My sister-in-law's dad is quite handy and he whipped these bad boys up out of scrap lumber in his yard. I painted them and made the bags (Bronco blue and orange!) and -ta da!- the backyard gets a little more fun.
On the actual day of his birthday, Caleb and I wanted to surprise Mark so I set up all his gifts in the bedroom, put up a little "Happy Birthday" bunting that I'd made (also in BSU colors)
and then Caleb and I kept watch, looking out the window and waiting for Mark's car to pull up.
When we saw him pulling into the drive we made a mad dash to the bedroom, crouched down behind the bed and then popped up and yelled "Happy Birthday!" when Mark walked in. Caleb thought it was fabulous.
Here are the boards in action at the barbecue.
Everyone was impressed by my mad painting skillz.
And I had to share the cake. Mark doesn't really like sweets (his idea of dessert is leftovers) so when his mom asked what she should make for his cake, I picked what I wanted since I knew Mark wouldn't care.
It was a pineapple-upside down cake and it was delicious. However, there was no frosting to write "Happy Birthday" with so I made some mini BSU bunting to string over the cake and make it a little festive. I thought it was cute.
We had a good time! Hung out with friends, drank some beers, ate some food. 
Some of us ate a lot of food. As usual.
How did you resist the temptation to paint the backyard lawn blue?
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