REWIND...

The weekend before my birthday, Josh was "supposed to see a customer in Toledo" on a Saturday afternoon. Of course, the opportunity to stop in a visit my family was recognized! Now, I have to admit, I was a little suspicious...you see, my mom is extremely fair when it comes to doing things for her children. When my brother turned 13, she threw him a surprise party...a year and a half later, I also had a 13th surprise birthday party, and four years later it was Jessica's turn. SO, a year and a half ago, I helped my mom plan a surprise 30th birthday party for Steve...enter my suspicions in the days before my birthday.

We got up to Toledo and pulled into the parking lot at Navy Bistro where Josh was "meeting his customer" and my mom was meeting Aaron and I to have lunch. As we drove through the lot, I started noticing a few familiar cars...my mom's, my sister's, my brother's, my dad's (with KY plates)...and upon getting out of the car and walking into the restaurant I also noticed my Aunt and Uncle's van and my friend Gretchen's car. I shared these observations with my mom with sarcastic suspicion;) The response: "you're a girl! You're not supposed to recognize people's cars!" haha...sorry Mom!

What a great party. My family (parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, in-laws) and closest friends had all gathered in a semi-private dining area at Navy Bistro (also the location of our wedding reception!). There were delicious appetizers and, of course, COOKIE CAKE! YUM! I had my own special mug and a Strawberry Shortcake (a childhood favorite) plate...in addition to a lovely 30-inspired necklace.

Below are some highlights...

At my mom's house following the festivities, there was more cake...and of course, my gift from my mom...what every 30-year old needs: video games! I got a Wii...and a partied-out 9 month old!

My mom and sister put together an album of all my birthdays from 1-29...it was both cute and disturbing. There are just some years that should not be captured by photo;) Fortunately, this is not one of those, but rather the picture from my first birthday!