Celebrating the BIG 30!

Turning 30 was not something I was looking forward to. Not in the slightest. About a week or two prior to my birthday I found a stray grey hair. *Ugh* And then the day before my birthday I tweaked my shoulder during a workout & must have done something to my back because I was in a lot of pain. Talk about perfect timing. I felt like I was falling apart just in time for the dreaded birthday. Haha! 

That morning my sweet friend Brittany came by for a visit. She brought me a birthday doughnut too! It was a great way to start out the day.

 Then I had a little package to open from my sweet brother Jason & his wife Becki & their six amazing kids. They are so thoughtful to think of me, let alone send me this beautiful necklace.

 Okay, so this day is off to a good start after all. Haha! And it even got better. Laura treated me & Liam to lunch at Red Robin (a birthday tradition).

I love the gift bag she used. She's so funny! And I LOVED what was inside, a cake decorating kit & a book she put together of some of my friends favorite memories with me over the years. I'm not going to lie, I was a little over come with emotion at how much effort & love went into this. It is a book that I will always cherish. I couldn't let myself read any of it at the restaurant because I knew I would become a mess. But reading it later was so much fun! I got a lot of laughs from the memories shared & yes, I did cry...a lot. I love my friends. They have always been a big part of my life. And what a treat to read the love they have for me too!

Doug got home from school early that day so he & the boys shut me in my bedroom so they could prep our little family party. When they let me out I was immediately given this medal to wear around my neck. :)

Okay, funny thing I have to share. A couple nights prior Doug was running around the house being all secretive opening drawers, going through cupboards,etc. Even though I could tell he was clearly looking for things, I knew it was for my bday so I decided not to stay out of it & leave him be. Then at one point he came out of the office & said, "Hypothetically, IF I was going to use the laminator, which way would I want to insert the sheet?". So I told him how, hypothetically. And he said, "Ya...I did that. And hypothetically, what if it didn't come out the other end?". At this point I was trying soooo hard to not just jump up & do whatever it was for him. BUT I didn't. I let him figure it out on his own. Which he later said he wasn't really using it, just testing my knowledge about the machine. Haha! Nice try honey.

Anyhow, my point in telling that story is at this point I saw all the things that he actually did laminate. My medal being one of them.

The table was covered with lots of funny quotes about turning 30 & facts from the year I was born in 1983. Gas only cost $1.25/gallon, that was the year microsoft word came out, top song was 'Beat It', to just name a few. My favorite funny quote was "Looks 18, acts 12. That makes me 30!" Haha!

My yummy mint chocolate chip ice cream cake.

 

I sure love my sweet family!

Opening presents. The boys gave me ROKU, my parents sent me a photo montage dvd of my life from birth to 30 & Doug gave me his 'pinterest' gift.

He was so proud of himself for putting this together. He even used scalloped scissors & my ink pad on the edges of the paper. How freaking cute is he?!?! 

I loved it! I have never seen this version before & think it's super cute. I'll definitely be doing this again in the future. :) He also brought home this gorgeous bouquet of flowers!

After having some cake with the boys (who doesn't love dessert first) Doug told me to pack an overnight bag. He was very specific on what I should bring & to not ask any questions. PJ's, swimsuit, toiletries. That was it. I immediately started asking questions in regards to what he told me to pack & I was quickly cut off with, "I said NO questions." I was getting super excited about what was in store. I looked to my sister & said, "You're so nice to stay with the boys tonight." And all she responded was, "Accommodations have been made."  What? I had just assumed that Doug had his bag already in the car. But if Laura wasn't staying with the boys, then who was? The confusion was starting to set in. But off we went. Doug took me out to dinner. We went to a new place we have never been to called tap42. On our way walking in from the parking lot my wedge broke. Dang it! What was I going to do? I was unable to walk with no strap to hold my foot in. Then I remembered. I told Doug to run to the car & get the extra pair of sandals I packed from my overnight bag. You should have seen the look on his face. He said, "I thought I told you to only pack what I said?" And I smirked with a reply, "Do I ever listen?" Haha! And I 'm so glad I didn't listen cuz now I was saved from embarrassment of being without shoes. :)

We had a great time sitting out on the patio & enjoying our delicious meal.

We had the spinach artichoke dip for an appetizer. Doug got the Dunken Goat Burger (Lamb & Beef Blend / Whipped Goat Cheese / Arugula / Sliced Tomato / Onion / Abita Purple Haze Raspberry Jam) Sounds delightful, but we weren't that impressed. I'm just not a huge goat cheese fan. We also ordered roasted brussel sprouts & those were pretty tasty. The spinach dip was by far the best.

As we were finishing up dinner I noticed a white envelope on the table next to Doug. I asked if I could open it & he obliged. While opening it I could see it was a hotel key card. I couldn't help but think of the Bachelor when they are given the fantasy suite card asking if they choose to forgo their individual rooms....haha! My eyes got huge & my smile grew from ear to ear. I think I said something like, "Oh! This is going to be so fun just the two of us." And he said, "You're the only one who packed a bag." What?! He's sending me to a hotel all by myself? I mean it does sound relaxing to have some complete solitude, but I'm not too sure. He wouldn't say anything else. We went down to Las Olas Blvd to walk around & get some frozen yogurt. My favorite! The ambiance of downtown is so beautiful. I was having such a great time with my man that I couldn't resist a sappy kissy pose picture!

He kept checking his phone all night long & at one point abruptly he said, "Ok. It's time to go." Go where? But of course he couldn't tell me that. In fact he didn't want me to see where we were going. He made me blindfold myself & lay back in the seat while he drove.

A horrible shot, but I was pretty proud of my blind selfie. Haha! I tried following his turns at first but it was pointless after a bit. But then he sped up so I knew we were on the freeway. I just assumed he was driving me to the hotel to dump me off. But just didn't want me to see to add to the fun. Well he made his final stop & said, "Go ahead & sit up, but keep the blind fold on." I did as I was told. Then my door opened from the outside & my purse fell on the ground. I sorta panicked hopefully it didn't all spill out. And I was getting restless so I snapped, "Can I take it off now?!?!"  And Doug finally replied, "I suppose so!". This is his view of where we were.

And here are the videos of what I saw when I took the blindfold off.

Uh..can you say AMAZING?! I can't even explain the extent my brain went to to process what my eyes were actually seeing. We're at the airport. Why are we at the airport? I see a girl that looks like Stephanie. Holy freaking cow, it IS Stephanie!!! What is she doing here? I just talked to her the other day & she was so sick. But OMG she's here. She's standing right here! Oh & there's her sweet baby girl Olive. All the while my body is physically shaking from absorbing all this information & emotion running through my body. Hence the tears. They were tears of pure joy. My heart was racing with excitement & surprise!
 **And to clarify, I was NOT about to use the profane F-word! I was about to say, "Shut the FRONT DOOR!" But like previously explained, my brain was not keeping up with what my eyes were seeing & I was all over the place.** I love that video was taken from both angles. It captured the moment perfectly!

The car ride back to our house was full of explanation about how this whole thing came to happen. Back in August, my sister Laura contacted Stephanie saying she wanted me to have the best 30th birthday, & in her mind that would include Steph. After some time & thought, Travis decided he could hold the fort down in New Mexico & that Steph could in fact fly out to Fort Lauderdale for my birthday. I don't know how Laura, Steph & Doug were all able to keep it a secret from me. I am the queen at finding out secrets! In fact, just a week or two prior to my bday I said in a conversation to Steph that it would be soooo cool if Doug had the means & idea to fly her out to surprise me. How weird is that?! She thought I for sure had figured it out after I said that. But nope. I didn't have a clue! They all pulled off the surprise of my lifetime.

Doug usually gives me a really hard time about being an 'old lady' because my birthday is 2 months before his. And yes, there was still some teasing, but he must have realized I was having a hard time with it as he put a lot of effort & thought into making my birthday perfect. He dropped himself off at home & sent us on our way to stay in that hotel that we won in a raffle at his ortho conference that morning. Seriously, could the stars have been any more aligned for the perfect birthday?!

When we pulled up to the Biltmore Hotel we were in ah. This place was huge & beautiful!

Let the picture taking begin! Standing in the courtyard of the Biltmore Hotel in Miami.

Our room. Doug was so cute & left us a little note & some chocolates telling us to enjoy our evening & try to get some sleep...just a little. :)

This place was immaculate! Poor Steph hadn't eaten anything most of the day due to traveling & because I didn't know about this whole thing I was prepared. Had I known I would have had a bag full of treats & eats for the hotel. But we did the next best thing....pizza delivery!

We stayed up late chatting the hours away just like ol times.

I couldn't stop staring at cute lil Olive. I was so happy to finally meet her, hold her & love on her! I think she looks so similar to her biggest brother Collin. So fun seeing Steph with all the pink stuff too! Everything was so frilly & cute. Love.

When we finally turned out the lights & decided to go to bed I think we said two or three different time that we were going to go to sleep, but wound up chatting about that 'one last thing'. Haha!

Man oh man I was one happy 30 year old I tell ya! I just kept saying how I couldn't believe she was actually there with me. Haha! It was a wonderful day filled with lots of fun & lots of love from my family & friends.