The big day!

So, the inevitable finally happened: I turned 30. I've been dreading it for months. Not because I knew I was going to all of a sudden feel old, but because labelling myself as "in my 30s" just sounds so mature! There's no denying it now-- I am an adult. I guess I better start acting like one now...

For the past month or so no one would tell me anything about the going-ons of my birthday. I knew there'd be something good after what I did for Dave's birthday. I didn't think there'd be a surprise party, because I've been to so many surprise parties in the past few years. That was too obvious. But, seriously, I had NO idea what it could be or WHEN it would happen.

Friday night (my birthday eve) my mom had us over for a family birthday dinner. This was not unusual, as we always do a family dinner together, usually the day before the actual birthday. She wanted to do it early (5:30) so that we could skype with Tasha and Christian (in London, 6 hours ahead of us) and Trent and Paige (in Brazil, 3 hours ahead of us). So, again, not too unusual. We had our "virtual birthday party" with opening of the gifts and blowing out the candles.

This was my big present a Nikon D5000 SLR digital camera!! All of my family plus Dave's mom and dad contributed to it, and I'm LOVING IT!!

Blowing out 30 candles is hard work! But as you can see, I had helpers:

 The virtual party: Trent and Paige (left computer), Lauren (middle computer), Tasha and Christian (right computer):

After we hung up from all the Skype sessions, we proceeded to eat dinner. It was a light dinner of Cobb Salad. This, also, was not unusual as for the past 3 family birthdays for people turning 30 we have done cobb salad. Of course, my mom does it up nice, so we had ALL the fixings. It was delicious.

After dinner we were just hanging around the house. My mom had told me that a couple from our church was going to come over at 7:30 to play Settlers of Catan (our family favorite) for after the kids went to bed. Finally, about 7:40 there was a knock on the door. I went to answer the door, assuming it would be DJ and Kami. But no. It wasn't. It was 11 of my girlfriends, decked out in their finest "going out" clothes. They were ambushing me, taking me away for the night...IN A LIMO!

My "accessories" for the night, thanks to Jen:

 my girlfriends, my mom, and me

 riding in style!

Our first stop was Reata. It's a super nice, yummy restaurant downtown Fort Worth. We went there for drinks and appetizers. I had this cherry limeade with a vodka twist, and boy was it YUMMY!!!

Ashley, Mandy, and Sherrie

 Jen (the mastermind of the evening), Lisa, and Erin

 Kami, Stephanie, and my mom

 Brandi, Lizzie, me, and Dana

After our yummy drinks and food, we headed to the Four Day Weekend comedy club. This is an improv comedy club (think Whose Line is it Anyway) that we LOVE. I hadn't been in over 4 years, so I was so excited to be here. My good friend, Stephanie, was the genius who had this idea! 

 4 day weekend: 

 all of us at the 4 day weekend:

After the comedy club (which, by the way, was so funny that several times I wondered if I was going to pee my pants), the limo picked us up again and we cruised downtown. There was a band playing outside, so we stopped and checked that out for awhile.

Our driver took us to these pretty lit trees and we all got out and he took our picture for us:

 jen and me:

I got home around 1am. It was the PERFECT night. I couldn't have asked for a better surprise from my good friends. Of course, it would have been nice if Cindy and Natasha had been there (along with a few of my other friends that couldn't make it). I am so thankful for the girlfriends I have, and how much they all love me! Thanks everyone for a great night!!!

SO, lest you think that's the end of my birthday celebration...
We got up on Saturday morning (my actual birthday) and took the kids over to my parents for the day/night. We headed to a town called Saint Jo, Texas- about 1 1/2 hours from Keller. We checked into our Bed and Breakfast, and then went to this place known for mountain biking. I'm not a big mountain biker, and neither is Dave. In fact, I think it's been about 3 years since I'd even ridden a bike. But, Dave thought it would be fun, and it was PERFECT weather for it. I wasn't expecting to love it, but I wanted to go with the flow. It was SO much fun!

After our mountain biking expedition, we headed back to the hotel. After some relaxation (and a nap) we showered up and got ready for dinner. We went here to a place called Ancient Ovens. It's a family run restaurant that cooks everything you eat (a 5 course meal) in a brick oven. It can only hold 60 people, and it's by reservation only. Apparently, they are sold out nearly every night (they're only open Thurs-Saturday). Check them out here. It's located on 110 acres, and it's beautiful:

 Dennis, the owner, cooking our appetizer in his brick oven:

 We had a great spot: right in front of the fire, so we could watch him cook everything:

It was the PERFECT place for a dinner, and the perfect ending to a great birthday celebration. Yummy food, Beautiful setting, and Great company. I wouldn't have my 30th birthday any other way.