Golden Birthday

I turned 30 on the 30th! My Golden Birthday! 

Turning 30 was surprisingly very pleasant. I fretted over the number. Having Parker at the ripe old age of 23 I thought I'd be DONE have all my  kids by the time I was 30. 10 years ago I anticipated my 30's as being a decade full of utter chaos chasing around kids. I looked forward to turning 40 when they would all be older, school age, and I'd be that awesome mom who had everything down pat.

Whelp. Clearly I'm not done having kids (hopefully) and I am NOT running around like a chicken with my head cut off. On the contrary life is so blissful and easy. I know I'm on the up-swing of life right now and trials and challenges will surely come again but right now I feel like I'm in a really good place. A sweet place. A very rich and fulfilling place. 

I have my amazing son and beautiful daughter. They are perfect. I feel like they are just on loan to me- like, Heavenly Father is letting me take care of them but truly they are His. And I'm so lucky to have this sacred responsibility. We have a wonderful home where I feel comfortable and secure. I want for nothing. Tanner has an excellent job and provides for our family very well. I don't stress about going back to work, but I look forward to it. I know that time will come but I will go back when I WANT to, not because I NEED to. (fingers crossed) We have such an awesome ward with the most spectacular neighbors. Every day is a party! Seriously, we have the BEST time with our friends! I can honestly say that life is really great right now. 

As I sat staring at my birthday candles with their tiny flames glowing in my face I recalled every previous birthday for the last 6 years. All I ever wished for was a baby girl. And here she is! What could I possibly ask for? What more could enrich my life further?

Ok, maybe a million dollars. ;-)

I've been told over and over again that my 30's will be the best decade of my life and I cannot wait! I'm so looking forward to it! Parker will be 16 in 10 years! Driving and dating!!!! Rayleigh will be my gorgeous princess, a brilliant young lady of 10. And who knows, maybe there will be more children added to our family. I know we will face more adversity in the future but I'm grateful that for now the winds are clam I am able to build  upon my foundation of faith and family. I can fortify my home and my life and my children's lives with my knowledge of the gospel, by keeping the commandments, and honoring my covenants so we can withstand the storms that will surely come to pass.

What can I say more? Turning 30 was rad.

When I turned 21 I was probably the only girl in Vegas who partied with her parents and husband and did not drink. We went out to dinner on the strip and saw a Cirque Du Solei show. I didn't have a party bus and ring in my "flirty 30" or "dirty 30" as some of my friends did when they turned 30. No, I had my Mom fly up to celebrate with me. She's my best friend and there's no one I would have rather partied with! And we had the BEST time!

She flew in the night before my birthday and we left straight from Parker's TBall game to pick her up from the airport. We couldn't wait to show her our new home! Luckily it stays lighter longer and she could see our cute town in the daylight. We showed her around the house and Tanner made us crepes for dinner. Our favorite! My sweet friend Melissa dropped off a cute gift and I was proud to introduce my Mom to one of my amazing friends.

The last day of my 20's was a busy one! I worked out.  Cleaned the house. Did laundry. Rocked the baby to sleep. Took Parker to school. Chatted with a mom friend. Ran to TJMax, Marshall's and Target. Ate lunch and played with the baby. Put her down for a nap. Cleaned the bathroom. Read my book. Picked Parker up from school. Went to the pool. Made a "Welcome" sign for my mom and finally took a shower. We then went to Parker's game and the airport. Whew!

The next day I woke up to so many loving texts and phone calls and emails and FaceBook comments! I felt like the entire world was wishing me a happy birthday! My Mom helped Parker make my favorite cake, Oreo Mint Chip Ice-cream Cake, before he left for school. Then Tanner met us at Happy Day Spa and we were pampered with an hour long massage! Tanner tried to get in on the action but they only had room for 2 and SOMEONE had to watch the baby. ;-) We thought it was just going to be a simple foot massage. Ohhhhhh no. It was full body bliss. We were very pleasantly surprised and will definitely be going back! After the massages we picked up Parker and had an early dinner at my favorite restaurant, Cheesecake Factory. It was delicious, as always, and the baby was so perfect. My kids are seriously such angels. Sorry, but it's true. ;-) The servers all sang to me and I felt truly special. Then it was off to soccer practice. It was so nice sitting out in the fresh air watching him play. I'm kinda liking this soccer mom business.

That night we busted out my super yummy birthday cake and sang happy birthday once again. I don't think my smile ever left my face. The first day of my 30's was fabulous!

Cheesecake Factory

Soccer

(We were trying to take a nice "I'm 30!" picture. ha ha)

Home Sweet Home.

My mother's presence was the BEST present but of course I was spoiled. My Mom got me a cute shirt and come birthday cash! Tanner got me new sunglasses with my Rx so I can SEE this summer while we play all day outside. A new phone (since mine was like 3 years old) and an Edible Arrangement per tradition. Yep! Spoiled for sure!

The next day my Mom and I checked out a fun place for lunch while Parker was at school called High Hand Nursery. We had a super yummy, fresh lunch in the huge green house then enjoyed strolling around the gardens. It was gorgeous and just the perfect little activity for us!

After we picked up Parker from school he was supposed to have a TBall game but it was canceled so we headed to the pool instead. It was a super hot day so the pool felt great. Parker and I saw a TON of friends there too so it was really fun! My Mom relaxed in the shade and read her book while I swam with the kids and chatted with friends. Tanner met us over there after work and for dinner we all went to The Fountains for some Noodles. We tried to show my Mom all of our favorite spots! That night we watched Frozen.

Friday we went out to breakfast at Awful Annie's! Then we ALL got pedicures while Parker was at school.  Tanner had never had one and wanted to get in on the action. It was super fun! My Mom held the baby and she was so good! All the ladies in there ooooo'ed and ahhhh'ed over her. Cuz she's the cutest! 

Tanner's getting his toes done!

Rayleigh says, "See! I have toes too!"

We got a Jamba Juice after the nail salon and then it was off to get Parker from school!

That afternoon we took my Mom to Old Town Auburn and had our hearts set on getting her a "Mom Salad" at this place where we ate lunch one time but they were closed!!! :-( So were a ton of the shops we wanted to check out so we just meandered over to Bootleggers and had dinner there. We were early so we had the place to ourselves. It was tasty and had a fun '49er Gold Rush vibe. After dinner we drove my Mom across Forest Hill bridge. She was so brave!

It was nice to stay on top of bedtime routines while she was here. I told her to bring a stack of magazines and a book to read while she was here because we have a lot of down time with the baby's sleep schedule but as it turned out we were really quite busy! We had her going the whole time she was here! My kids absolutely adore her though and we loved having her in our home!!!

Saturday came all too quickly. Tanner had to take a webinar class all day so he was unavailable but we had a nice morning and then my Mom came with me to Parker's TBall game. He played catcher one inning and it was so cute! He loved having Nanny there to cheer him on! I'm so glad she got to see him play sports while she was here! After the game we met Tanner at Sterling Cafe for lunch and then headed back home so she could pack up.  When we got in the car to drive to the airport she looked at her itinerary and noticed that we were leaving an hour earlier than we needed to! But we decided to just head on over there anyway and she could relax and not feel rushed to get on her plane. We were soooooo sad to see her leave! But we know we'll see her again soon!!!!!! She made turning 30 so fabulous!!!!!

That evening we went to our Ward's talent show and the baby was really getting tired so we asked our friends if they could bring Parker home (he wanted to stay and watch the whole thing). They said they would and Tanner and I realized, as we got in the car, that we had about 43 minutes of kid free time! Wooooo hooo! The baby was asleep and we were ready to party!!!!! I guess a date night here and there should be put on the calendar. ;-) Since we were ill prepared for our 5 minutes of freedom we rocked out in the car instead. ha ha

And here is my baby, asleep with her foot.

The End!