Being reminded of summer sun and wildflowers in bloom is not a bad way to celebrate a November 26th birthday, even if it required driving 500 miles and encountering a blizzard in Butte, rain beyond Dillon and a fierce dust storm just this side of Idaho Falls that closed the Interstate and forced us to find our way on back roads.

The sun was out and made for a beautiful weekend once we arrived in Salt Lake City and found our way to the Wildflowers B & B, our new favorite place to stay in SLC.

This was our second time to stay at Wildflowers and we were anxious to also make a repeat visit to a great Greek restaurant that we stumbled upon last spring. Aristo’s serves up authentic and delicious Greek cuisine and it was a wonderful setting for Cynthia’s birthday dinner. Happy Birthday Cynthia!

While we were in Salt Lake City we found our way once again to IKEA. For a second time we loaded the U Haul with cabinets, lighting, furniture and carpet until the tires went low. It was definitely a full pack when we closed the doors on the trailer. Weather cooperated this time and we had an uneventful drive home.

Another load of IKEA boxes ready to be unpacked and assembled.

Birthday celebrating continued for Cynthia once we arrived home in Helena. Julia and Steffen prepared a most enjoyable and delicious birthday dinner for Cynthia which I also got to taste!

Cynthia was eager to return the toast when the aroma of the outdoor grill whiffed into the kitchen as Steffen brought in the steaks.

It was hard to decide what kind of cake would be best for Cynthia so the result was a cake sampler from the Park Avenue Bakery- a favorite in Downtown Helena!

As if all that celebrating wasn’t enough for Cynthia, we headed out of town again this weekend and found our way to Bob and Jeanne’s in Missoula for an authentic Lutefisk dinner on Friday night. Meatballs, potatoes, lingon relish, melted butter, cream sauce, lefse and rumigröt capped off the feast.