I was honestly not dreading this birthday...though I always thought I would. Thirty. It used to sound old, but now I realize that a thirty year-old can still look stylin' in a sparkly nose ring :)
The weekend was fantastic. We went to Clarinda on Friday afternoon, spent the evening with my parents at the farm, stayed up late laughing and talking and then went to bed. I really had no idea that we would celebrate my b'day any way but maybe going out to dinner or something later in the weekend. Saturday I spent time with my Grandma cooking and talking while Eden played with the old toys that used to occupy me at Grandma's house. Then we went to Doug and Heidi's for a fun family evening spent with Dan's brothers and sisters and their family, specifically because Angie was in town with her little girls, and we hadn't seen Trish's newest addition either. So Aunt Shaddey had a lot of fun trying to figure out how to hold two babies at once and got a really nice baby fix. Alivia, who is 6 days older than Layla, is super smiley and sweet. Layla is a real snuggler, and though she likes her momma, she fell asleep on me for a good long time and I loved it.
Sunday morning, we woke up and Dan hurried me around and took me up to Lee's. We were only there an hour when he whisked me out of there. As we were driving up the road to my parents' farm, he turned into the park where I saw over 50 people in the 100 degree heat waiting for me! I was seriously surprised--I HAD NO IDEA that was going on. And apparently it had been happening all around me all day :) We had so much fun. Uncle Stubs made ribs just for me, Mom had a cake made with my favorite icing, and there was Grandma Ev's famous taco salad. Tiel made everyone say their name, who they belonged to, and an embarrassing story about me. It was great.
Next, we headed to Stubs' house for a pool party and more food. Tiel and I did matching canon ball dives and Terry almost shot us out of the pool with his can opener. I had so much fun I popped my nose ring out.
Tiel and I schemed to stay an extra day at Mom and Dad's so we drove home together on Monday. Dan had arranged a babysitter and an evening out for dinner. I got home at 4:30--there were roses on the table. Darin showed up to babysit at 5:30pm. I got dressed up a little and we headed out. On the way there, I said, "Where are we going?" Dan answered, "HuHot." I said, "Do we have to go to HuHot?" Dan: "Yes." Well, that got me suspicious. Anytime we go out, there is this long conversation of "Where do you want to go?" "I don't care, where do you want to go?" So the fact that he was being so definitive seemed odd. I was in the mood for shrimp, anyway! So after a month or so of keeping quiet and pulling off one surprise party already, he cracked a little. He smiled so I left it alone. He stalled me for a little while, and then we went to HuHot where he gave me a hilarious card in the car, then walked me in to HuHot and as we got to the door, pulled out a
necklace and put it on me....and if that wasn't enough...then lead me to a table full of girls that I love! Then he gave me some cash, a kiss, and said, "Happy Birthday, and part of the surprise is that I am going home. Have fun!" I had a blast with my twelve gal pals. We ate yummy food and then chatted so much the waiter had to yell to get our attention :) Then Kate, Kel, and Liz took me out for ice cream! Oh, wait, there's more...
When I got home at 10pm, Dan had a homeade almond cake waiting for me and a pint of DQ in the freezer! Though I was FULL we ate a little cake together! There is still a little stack of gifts on the table labeled "MOM" but I am going to wait til my precious girls are up to open them.
What a birthday! I feel like this year I had enough birthday surprises to last another 30 years! Thanks to all my wonderful friends and sisters for sharing this milestone with me! Here's to entering my "wisdom years!"
