I spent my birthday at the best place to ever spend your birthday… Grandma’s house. Especially when Grandma is a cake baker! We had to go about our day before I got the good stuff though, so to occupy our time we headed to Mary’s Peak which is really close to Philomath, Oregon. Grandma, Kevin and I hiked up to the summit and enjoyed a picnic lunch. Very picturesque with plenty of photo opportunities. Plus if you don’t hike much, you should know that hikers are the friendliest people ever. We ran into numerous different people who pointed out what mountains we were looking at and what direction we were facing. They even came back when we weren’t sure which path to take back to the car to show us on the map where each trail goes.
After quite a hike in the 100 degree weather again, we headed to Ixtapa Mexican Restaurant for dinner. We ate here last time we came out, and we still talk about how good it was, so we were happy to find out it was still in business this time too. Kevin was so excited with the Horchata on the menu, and the food is delightful. Of course, we had to save room for my cupcakes
I placed my cupcake order (chocolate cake, strawberry filling, chocolate ganache and cream cheese frosting. Grandma walked into her room of magic and voila… we had cupcakes! Nine of them in fact with Lemon, Raspberry or Strawberry filling with chocolate, white and red velvet cake. Too much for one person to eat… that’s for sure. But very very good.
Top of Mary’s Peak <3
Pretty butterfly on the way up to the summit
Cupcakes being prepared
Grandma, Jerry, Kevin and I in their beautiful backyard =)
