Weekend Festivities

 turning 30 calls for a cheesy photo

I had a different post planned for today, but then my weekend was so different from what I was expecting (in a good way) that I thought I'd share.

On my birthday (thanks for all the birthday wishes, by the way! they made my day!), Mike ended up taking me out to lunch while my mother-in-law watched the kids (thanks, Jill!). Since it's extremely rare for me to be without children in the middle of a weekday, that alone made for a pretty great birthday.

birthday card from aaron

Our original plan was to celebrate on the weekend, but since Mike took me out on my actual birthday, I was pretty sure he would count that as "the celebration." I'm not criticizing his birthday planning, but with it following so close on the heels of the holidays, he's usually a little burned out by the time it rolls around. Plus, I had already had a cake when we were in Colorado with my family, so it didn't seem like there was any celebrating left to do. Time to get on with being 30.

That's what made the weekend so awesome. Each little happening was a new surprise.

On Friday evening, Mike took me shopping. We still haven't purchased anything because the thing we went shopping for was . . . a bedroom set! The decision is proving to be a bit difficult. In all our years of marriage, our bedroom furniture has consisted of: a mattress on a bed frame (no headboard, etc.), a dresser purchased from the classifieds, a nightstand Mike made in high school, a three-drawer rubbermaid organizer, and a cedar hope chest Mike's parents gave me when I graduated from college. So it's going to be pretty incredible to have a bedroom that actually looks like it goes together. I might actually enjoy being in my room!

On Saturday afternoon, I got to meet one my blogging friends, Melanie, from Melthoughts. It has been fun to be friends online (we share several of the same interests, reading being the most prominent one), but I discovered it's even more fun to meet in person. We met at RubySnap, a cute little cookie shop with unlimited samples. I ended up ordering the Judy, a soft cookie full of orange zest and topped with cream cheese frosting (it will sound disloyal after recently admitting to my deep devotion to chocolate chip cookies, but it was incredibly delicious). We spent an hour chatting, and Melanie was just as nice in real life as she is on her blog. (And I realized after I left that I didn't get a picture of us; I totally meant to.)

I came home from the afternoon relaxed and happy. When I opened the back door, the house was still and clean and quiet. I don't need to tell you that in our house, such a combination is extremely rare. My senses were on high alert as I walked into the living room and saw the banners, seconds before hearing, "Surprise!" and seeing Mike, my boys, and all of my Utah siblings jump out from their hiding places. It was my first-ever surprise party, and I really was surprised.

birthday cake from "the store"

Yesterday we had another party with Mike's family. There are seven January birthdays (yes, seven! who knew it was such a popular birthday month?), and Mike's sister made every single birthday person (even the two that weren't there) their own cake. She kind of takes things up to the next level. Even though all the little kids (including my own) seemed to be a little more ramped up than usual, it was so fun to be with some of my very favorite people.

five of the seven january birthdays, with mark holding a facetime call with one of the missing guests of honor

And finally, a few presents worth mentioning:

• My friend, Shauna, showed up on the night of my birthday with a big plate of chocolate chip cookies, still warm from the oven. I was in heaven.
• My kids all made me birthday cards, and my heart just about melted when I read the inside of Aaron's: "Mom you are the nicest mom ever. I can't ask for a better one."
• A homemade bookmark from my brother. His wife and I were trying to figure out the best way to use it since it's too short for a regular-sized book, but it's the thought that counts, right? 

It was just an all-around fabulous weekend, and even this wet, dreary January Monday can't dampen my mood.