Future Blackmail

I really love this 3-year-old stage that Tater is in. The stage in which he does hilarious things and still lets me get them on camera. There are other 3-year-old stages I could live without, but that's a different story...
So I just can't help but share.

OK, so that one's not really that bad, but it was his first day of "school" and I had to throw it in. Can't resist a cheesy grin.

Captain Underpants himself.

Captain Underpants taking a lunch break. He wore that goofy hat for at least an hour.

And my personal favorite...

Mr. Singin' in the Rain. And in a visor and jacket. Do you notice a trend here? My kid doesn't wear pants much.

30 is the new 20

Yep, that's right. I am 30 now. Officially in my 30's. And in honor of my big milestone day, my wonderful family, headed up by my mommy and seester Dana threw me a wonderful surprise birthday party the Saturday before my birthday. I, of course, was clueless as usual; it really was a surprise.

The plan was to have dinner at Mom's with the in-town siblings. We all went over a little earlier than planned so the boys could play a little longer before the cousins went to a baseball game (my fault - yes, I nearly messed up the surprise) and then started getting ready for dinner. Then the doorbell rang and I saw 4 of my sweet friends standing there. And of course, then I realized what was going on... realized why Mom hesitated when I asked if we could come over early; why the projector was out in the dining room (Mom made this fabulous slide show of my life; beyond sweet); why everybody was acting just a little weird. :)

So we all enjoyed some good food, some INCREDIBLE chocolate cake, and some hilarious pics of this ridiculous 30-year-old growing up. Oh, and the boys played. And played and played.

Mom asked everybody to make a "top 30" list for my for my big day; it was the coolest thing ever. Kerry made a list of scripture promises; Dana made a list of quotable quotes; Sara made a too-great-for words list of "Fri memories" shared between the two of us; Crystal made a very cute anagram with my name that actually had 30 words; Christyn sent a list of 30 pieces of advice; my sweet Sabi, Sara and Alison gave me 30 Dove chocolates (woo hoo!) and a facial. There were a few other lists of memories and messages too; and Mom gave me a gorgeous scrapbook to keep them all in. I just felt so very loved. My favorite list, though, was from my dad and step-mom. Even though they couldn't be there, Carla made a ton of great food, and Daddy made a just plain awesome "list." He picked out 30 symbols that represented things he loved about me and different memories we shared. Like a package of "Maw Maw cookies," like my grandmother always gave us, or a paint set to represent my creativity. It was so very touching and so very sweet. I managed to keep from crying all evening until I opened his bag... luckily most everyone was gone already.

It was a wonderful night. I just feel so blessed to have such wonderful people around me. I know a lot of time and effort went into my night, and I can't tell everyone how much I appreciated their thoughtfulness! Even to those who wanted to be there but couldn't; I love you and I thank you so much for thinking of me and for loving me.

So, all in all - turning 30 wasn't so bad. Oh, and by the way - my whole "30 by 30" isn't quite done yet. I didn't manage to get all the way to 30 yet, but I will... and then some. The joy of doing for someone else is just too good a feeling to give up just because I had a birthday.