Turning 30...

I'm officially 30 now! I have mixed feelings about turning 30 but I'm also excited to see what this new decade brings for me and my family. It's not that I feel "old", will kinda I guess. But so many great things happened in my twenties, here are a few of my most memorable experiences in my twenties...

AGE 21:

• I got to spend an entire summer in England with some of my good friends. We all got jobs on a airforce base in Harrogate, England. I worked at the "Shopette", it was a small grocery/video store. Then the last month we were there, we backpacked all over Europe visiting: Dublin, London, Paris, Cannes, Florence, Rome, Venice, Vienna and Prague. I got to see some of the most beautiful places in the world, this is an experience I'll never forget.

AGE 23:

• Met and married Rich, best decision of my life.

AGE 25:

• We built and moved into our home this year, I was 8 months pregnant when we moved into our home in Saratoga Hills. We love this area and have great friends here.
• Brooklyn was born. Words cant even describe the feelings you have when you give birth, I was so excited to be a mom.

AGE 26

• Weston was born, I was thrilled to have a boy!
  

AGE 28:

• Rich graduated with his Bachelors degree, exciting day for both of us. He went to school in the evenings and worked during the day. He worked very hard while working towards his degree.

AGE 29:

• Blake was born, I was so excited for Weston to have a brother close in age.
• This was also the year that Rich decided to make a huge career change and go back to school and work towards a career in the medical field. Huge changes this past year, but they've been great and I cant wait to see what the future brings.
• Running a marathon. I learned a lot while training for this race. I learned that I can do anything if I set my mind to it. I am just an average person who was wanted to see how hard I could push myself. I learned that you don't need to be an athlete to run a marathon(because I am far from it!), anyone can run 26.2 miles if they want it bad enough.

AGE 30 so far... So yesterday I woke up and Rich made me breakfast in bed and then went off to school. It was a very good breakfast! I took Brooklyn to get her kindergarten shots, then I had activity days later in the afternoon. In between all of that I got phone calls and emails from friends and family wishing me a happy birthday. I had a few friends drop by with treats and cards. Thanks everyone. I have one friend in particular that I have to thank for not going to overboard on my birthday this year. You know who you are (Crystal)! Last year she took me snowboarding at Park City and out to dinner, which was so thoughtful and nice. It really was a FUN day, but I felt bad she spent so much on me. This year she called the night before my birthday and was stressed about what to get me, I told her not to worry about a gift but I knew that would be impossible for her to do, so she went against my wishes and brought me over balloons and a big balloon filled with gifts and treats. I still feel like she did too much, but I do think she scaled back a bit from my last birthday. So thanks Crystal. When Rich got home late last night from school I was already asleep, and when I woke up he was gone for school. I went into the kitchen to get some breakfast and saw he had bought me a new cake stand and it had a sweet love note in it. I had broken my cake stand that we got as a wedding gift a few months ago and I almost cried when it broke partly because it was sentimental and I used that cake stand almost everyday. So it was sweet of Rich to get that for me.

So, it was a great birthday. I usually don't enjoy the attention when it's my birthday, but since this is a BIG birthday for me I thought it was worth blogging about.

I made Rich's favorite chocolate cake today and put it in my new cake stand. If anyone is looking for a great chocolate cake recipe, let me know and I'll post it. This is Amy Wards recipe, it's REALLY good and easy to make!