I Never Understood the Line, "I was thirsting for knowledge and he had a car."

Yesterday as I sat on my kitchen counter and excitedly pulled each index-carded surprise out of the mailing box, I told Andy, "I'm not suggesting that other people have friendships that are purely surface level or flaky, but I can't imagine that anyone has a medley of people in their life more interesting and compassionate and quirky than I do. My friends just have depth." His response, "You are a collector of these types of people."

The surprises of interest were part and parcel of a present that I received in the mail on Friday from a one Mr. Ben Ashby, a present that, without question, completed the best birthday week of my life. I am still blown away by the Pillow Book entry that Caroline organized and to which so many of you contributed; the homemade cards and notes from Lindsey and Ben kept me laughing for days; Step Up:3D reaffirmed my belief that synchronized dance routines can indeed change the world; I got the chance to share my lunch with Isabella on more than one occasion and then Saturday morning with Gage, pancakes, and my favorite booth; Dad has been feeling better and was able to (re)tell some stories at Grandma's birthday dinner last night; I have spent the week surrounded by hilarious people and lots of love.

I've told you how much I hate trinkets. I have neither stamp assortment nor coin display. I have no idea what happened to my cherished teddies. Nonetheless, thank you for letting me collect you.
I came in from work on Tuesday to find these on my kitchen counter. That Jackie, she's a sneaky one.
This was the best pie I've ever had in my life. Mom is the greatest.
Isabella is a present to everyone everyday.
What's a birthday party without a lil' beatboxing?
For some reason, CLT didn't want to be a part of the Turner family stupid picture extravaganza. I'll settle for this, though:)
It's nice to be known.
Love my puppies, love my boyfriend.
It's part grab bag, part really fantastic mail day.
And here she is, the Rainbow Brite doll that inspired the toy post. I love that the index card said "Rainbow Brite's hair really annoys me." Hence the scarf:)
Not only did Ben take the time to write personalized notes on each of the surprises, but he also wrote a list of "30 things I've learned from Liza." He is a superstar.