Hope you had a great weekend! Mine was absolutely wonderful. I flew into Lexington on Thursday night to spend a long weekend with my family.

I spent Thursday night talking and catching up with my parents. After all of the chatting and a glass of wine,  I was exhausted and went to bed early. After a restorative, glorious 8 hours of sleep, I woke up and went for a 4 mile run through the neighborhood.

I enjoyed running in the morning. It was a lot cooler, and I liked being done with the workout early in the day. Maybe I should try running before work?

I spent most of Friday relaxing and helping my parents get ready for hosting my grandpa’s birthday dinner. (Friday was his actual birthday.) Some of his nieces and nephews (my mom’s cousins) flew in from Colorado to surprise him at the dinner. He was so shocked and excited when he saw them. It was a great way to kick off the birthday celebrations. 🙂

We celebrated with some delicious food and drinks.

It’s not a Friday in the Brown household without vodka tonics. Cheers!

We started out with snacks: olives, veggies, ranch dip, beer cheese, and crackers. If you haven’t had beer cheese yet, you need it in your life. It’s one of my Kentucky favorites.

For dinner we had pork and chicken barbecue, slaw with apples, green beans, baked beans, and potato salad. I was lurking in the kitchen while my dad cooked, getting tips on how he made everything.

I forgot to get a picture, but we had chocolate silk pie and banana pudding for dessert. I’m not usually a big dessert person, but holy cow the desserts were awesome.

On Saturday morning I went on a 3 mile walk around the neighborhood with my parents and then ran a few errands with them.

I love driving around Lexington because of views like this.

We spent the afternoon watching the UK vs. Ohio University football game. Scooter and I took a nap during the first half.

That evening we watched movies and rested up for the big party on Sunday.

I started off Sunday morning with a 7 mile run. The weather was perfect. It was in the low- to mid-60s, cloudy, and breezy. I felt fantastic, and the views on the run were beautiful.

Oh hey horses.

It was the best long run I’ve had since I started training for my half-marathon.

Still smiling after 7 miles! It was a good run.

Excuse the blurriness. I guess I fogged up my phone camera during the run.

After the run, my dad had another gourmet breakfast waiting for me. Can you believe he makes breakfasts like this everyday? I am spoiled.

Small omelet with apple chicken sausage and oat bran pancakes with blue berries and whipped cream.

I showered and got ready for my grandpa’s big party. We headed over a couple of hours early to set everything up at his house.

Ready to party.

Some friends from church catered, and Ms. Kim, who also made my wedding cake, made a delicious lemon-flavored birthday cake. I’m sad I forgot to get a picture of it!

Over 90 people showed up to celebrate my grandpa. It was amazing to see how many lives he has touched in his 90 years. I can only hope that I will be as healthy and as loved when I’m 90.

Left to right: my dad, grandpa, mom, and brother.

I’m sad to leave my family, but it was a fantastic weekend and celebration. Happy 90th birthday, Pop-Pop!