{30}

Saturday I went and tuned 30 years old.

30!!
You all know I love Birthdays and was even
looking forward to turning the old age of 30.
I just think Birthdays are fabulous!


I woke up to some fun decorations in the yard,
just in case anyone in the world didn't know it was
my birthday...My darling mother in law put these adorable flowers
all over the yard with the number 30 written on them.
The ladies loved them!And this gem was posted on the side of the house,
so everyone who drove by could see it.
Gee, thanks Lorraine! :)

After we got ready for the day we
headed to the crepery to get some
delicious crepes,
courtesy of some very dear friends
who wanted to treat us to brunch.
YUM!!

And then the day got boring.
I mean really boring.
And remember, I like birthday's done big.
really big.
So we came home from crepes, and sat.
And sat some more.
And I was doing my best not to get grumpy.
But I wasn't succeeding.

I couldn't believe there was nothing to do on my
Birthday, and couldn't believe Trav hadn't planned a thing!
Except he did ask me to go to the grocery store to
buy garbage bags...
And I nearly cried.

After the extremely boring day of nothing,
we headed to Cafe Sabor to celebrate with
my lovely family.

(Me and the ladies before dinner).

(T and I at dinner).

(Lovely).
Don't be jealous of my hot 30 year old self.

We left dinner and I was feeling a little better.
My beautiful sister came up from Idaho that morning
and she wanted to come see my kitchen,
so we went straight to our house so I could
show it off.
And then we sat there.
Again.
More sitting.
My dad and Cody fell asleep on the couch.
And I was
not
super
thrilled
how I was starting
my 30's.

Around 9:00 my they all went to leave and my
sister told me I had to come get my gift at my moms.
She said it was too big to carry.
And we were planning on going running so I told
her I'd be over as soon as I changed into my
running clothes...to which she quickly replied,
"But your gonna want a picture of this gift, it's awesome."

You'd think that I would have realized something was up,
but I was far too grumpy to even think about it.
I was a let down Birthday snob.

We got to my moms and she told me it was out back,
and when I went back there I found the backyard full
of people I just adore.
My family is pretty much amazing!

Here are some scenes from my party,
taken by my dear friend Eileen.

There was like 10 different types of cupcakes
on these adorable stands all around the yard.
We are all gaining much too much weight because
we can't stop eating them!

My mom had the idea to plan the party,
with a lot of help from Travis, a few of my ward friends,
and these beautiful people below.

Kerry and Shelly Otte.

The Otte family lived across the street from us growing up.
We spent almost every single Christmas Eve with them growing up,
and they are some of our dearest friends.
Their kids are also some of my favorite people in the
entire world, and I really just love them.
They are family.
Before they left the party they
were telling me about the day I was born.
It's a little crazy to think we've been friends for that long.

Kyle and Tami Griffiths.
These are some more amazing family friends.
We've been friends for as long as I can remember,
and I used to babysit their kids, who are now married,
and one with a baby.
(If 30 doesn't sound old, that fact alone makes me feel it!)
Tami is a fabulous party thrower and has helped
in each of our weddings, and these are just people who
would do anything for us.
They've helped us through some pretty tough times,
and we just love them.
They too, are family.
This is Connie,
who quite literally makes
the best cake I've ever tasted.
Connie lives just behind my mom
and she is just a great friend.
She is always thinking of others and
would give you anything you'd ask of her.
She's such a great friend to my mom,
and to all of my family.
We look forward to her coming to Sunday dinners.
She too, is like family, and made some
of the cutest, and tastiest cupcakes for my party.

I was pretty happy to see the women in Trav's family
there. My mother in law loves to
do Birthday's up big, especially big b-days like 30!
She's been sending me darling gifts all month.
She's such a fun, thoughtful person!
We'd been trying to find a time to get
together and celebrate, and it just wasn't happening,
so I was so happy
to see them there,
but we missed you Tiff!!

(Lorraine-my MIL, Michelle-my SIL, and Rheagen-my niece)
And some of my beautiful friends were able to come too!
I love these ladies. They are there for me whenever I need to complain,
cry, eat, or shop. They drag me out of bed to run in mornings,
and stay out late chatting whenever we get the chance.
They always seem to know what I need and always come through
for me. I adore them and wonder often what I'd do without them.

(Connie, Dedee, Chanelle, Courtney, Candace, Katie).
Eileen is behind the lens. But I love her too!My kids had no idea about the party till
they were on the drive over,
and man they were excited!
I love these ladies of mine,
and my adorable niece Brielle too!It was so fun getting to introduce my family to some of
my friends!

My beautiful sister.
Words can't express how much I love my sister.
She is one of the most talented, beautiful, kind people I know.
She is such a great example to me of what life should be like.
I wish, so much, that she didn't live so far away!
And while I love her so much,
I hate her a little because she's my older
sister, but she looks much younger then me!
Blah!
But really, I adore her and wish everyone could
have a sister like mine. The world would be a better place!

And T.
My love.
Who puts up with so much crap from me.
Let's be honest,
I was mad at him.
I thought he had failed me on my
30th birthday!
And I'm pretty sure in this picture
he's saying something like,
"Would I really let you have a crappy birthday
with you being the birthday snob you are??"

He is the best of men.
And I couldn't love him more then I do.
And I'm pretty happy he puts up with my
spoiled self.

I'm trying to mug on him here for
forgiveness....

My brother, Cody, and his wife Amy.
My brother is brutally honest, and a little uncouth.
He's one of the funniest people I know,
and one of my best friends.
Growing up we weren't the best of friends,
but now I talk to him at least every other day,
and miss him when he's not around.
And I owe a little of that love to the fact that
he made the smart choice of marrying Amy.
Amy is one of my dearest friends.
She is one of those people you can just be yourself around.
And she and I aren't very similar, but we get along
famously. I can't imagine life without her.
She's funny, beautiful, and just so easy going.

Love them.

,And my parents.
Man, I adore my parents.

My dad.
He is about the most tender hearted person I know.
He is always here helping in the yard or doing whatever we ask of him,
and even when he grumbles,
we all know there is no where he'd rather be then here helping us.
And he is a great grandfather to my kids,
and they all adore him.
And I love him.
A lot.

My mom did a lot of work for this party,
as she has always gone out of her way to make
things special for me.
My mom is one of those rare people who found the
balance of how to be a parent, and a friend.
It's maybe a little (or a lot), pathetic how often
I talk to her, hang out with her, and beg favors of her.
She is just a beautiful person, inside and out and I hope
someday to be half the mom she is.
She really made my day special, and I am so grateful to her!
Love you mom!