thirty

On September 2nd I turned thirty!!!

I had wonderful celebrations and felt so spoiled and loved by family and friends! People keep asking me how it feels to be 30. Not really much different. The number doesn't really matter to me...I guess it' more about what I've accomplished in JUST 30 years! I have a wonderful husband, a cozy home, a successful 8+ years teaching career, and THREE healthy, happy boys! I'm choosing to not be sad about the new 3 in front of the 0, but to look forward to what will come in my next 30 years!

Here are some photos from a few of my birthday festivities!

The first birthday celebration- The Melting Pot with my Women's Group! Natalie and I share a birthday week so we always celebrate together!

The next night my school girls took me out to P.F. Changs for dinner as well! I didn't get a picture, but they SO spoiled me this week- dinner out, lunch on my first day back at school, cards, and coffee! I LOVE working with some of my best friends!

On my REAL birthday I woke up to more surprises from my boys!

Mark always does a GREAT job with my birthday chair! I absolutely LOVE balloons! Some people think they are worthless, but I think they are OH SO FUN! A birthday MUST!

Mark got me a cleaning lady for the day to clean my house! I had to work 4 hours that morning, tracking in my classroom. It was SO nice to come home to a sparkling house and GIFTS! The boys also got me a cute new purse from ALDO! They are helping me open it in this photo!

My creative Mom sent me all these little baggies full of 30 little things! It was so fun! And the boys especially LOVED the ones with candies!

I always call the boys "pickles" so they got me the perfect card! A pickle card with googly eyes! Nolan was SO excited about it that as he ran in to my room to give me my morning kiss and shout "Happy Birthday", the next thing he said was "We got you a pickle card!" The boy CAN NOT keep a secret! Hence why he WILL NOT know the new baby's name until he's born! Ha!

Heath LOVES the card and plays with it all the time! He kept holding it up and saying "EEEE", his version of "CHEESE" and wanting us to take his picture!

My bestie Jill, sent me such a thoughtful gift. She helped me celebrate my whole birthday WEEK! Each day leading up to my birthday I had a special note to open! On my actual birthday I got a BEAUTIFUL gift- a Lisa Leonard hand stamped sterling silver necklace!

After doing my birthday chair I had a bridal shower to go to for my friend Rebecca. So, no party for me on the 2nd, but it was really fun to be able to celebrate her and her big day with my closest friends on my birthday!

So the next day, we celebrated with Mark's family! Barb asked me what I wanted for dinner for my birthday, and my prego cravings only wanted 1 thing: loaded baked potatoes! So that's what we had! And they were delicious!!!

And of course I got to choose my cake: Oreo ice cream cake from Dairy Queen! So stinkin' good!

Me and my big guy and his CHEESY smile! He LOVES birthdays and loves all the traditions that come along with them: balloons, presents, candles, cakes, singing, and more! He's just like me with this, I LOVE birthdays and making a big deal out of the special person on their special day!

Both of the boys helping me open cards and presents!

Look at the HUGE glow of 30 candles! And look at the HUGE belly too!

Of course all the kiddos had to help blow out the candles, and the best part...licking the frosting off of them!

Chowing down! Nolan ate his whole piece, some of mine, and he even managed to swipe some bites from Brady's plate as well!

Thank you to everyone who commented on my wall on Facebook, texted, called, sent a card or gift, and celebrated with me in person! You sure know how to make a girl feel special!

And the best part yet, the party continues next weekend! As part of Mark's gifts to me, he and I get to go away for a kid free night! We CAN.NOT.WAIT!!!!!