30 on the 30th

     August 30th is my birthday and this year it was my "golden" birthday since I turned 30.  I was young when I got married to my sweetheart.  At 19 I knew I was mature and ready for marriage, my whole life ahead of me, so many dreams.  But I never dreamed of being 30 it was so OLD and at 19 you're still living in the here and now, I was going to be young forever right??? right....? But here I am over 10 years of marriage and 30 years old, now I know a lot of people would read this and think "30, you're so young!".  But although 30 is "young" (young is relative) I was reminded this past birthday that time marches on.  I admit I had a mini "tri-life" crisis (as I call it), I didn't want to get older, why couldn't I stay 29? 
     Well, my dear sweet husband could sense my distress over the matter, he didn't want me to be down about it, he assured me that I would still feel young after I turned 30 and that it would all be okay.  Now, mind you, my husband is not one for planning surprises, he tries, and that's what means the most to me, however, he knows that I adore surprises, and I REALLY do.  The night before my birthday Jeff stayed up until 1:30 am buying food and flowers, decorating the house and making me an exquisite cheesecake.  Our tradition for birthdays is that we cover the birthday person's bedroom door with tons of streamers and then when they get up in the morning we wait outside their door and take pictures and film them running through and breaking down the streamers, it's great fun, the kids LOVE it.  So Jeff covered the kitchen doorway for my birthday, because if you know me, I love to cook and I spend alot of time in the kitchen so this seemed like the appropriate place for my "birthday doorway". 
     On my Birthday it was only the second day of school so we got the kids off and Jeff made me an amazing omelet.  Oh, I broke down my doorway of streamers, Lucy enjoyed watching that.  He then told me to take the day and go shopping, so I did, I wasn't going to fight him about that.   I LOVE clothes and shoes and I love to shop, I can't help it, it's just in me, so that's always my gift from Jeff.  I spent most of the day shopping and let me tell you, I got some AMAZING stuff!  It was sooooo great.....sigh. 
     That night Jeff surprised me with a most fabulous dinner he cooked himself:  rosemary roasted potatoes, marinated t-bone steak and roasted asparagus with shaved smoked gouda cheese on top, oh my word, it was UH-MAZING!!!  And, cooked to perfection!  We enjoyed a killer cheesecake also made by Jeff for dessert, I had been wanting to make this cheesecake, but I'm the cheesecake lover in our family, so I'm the only one who picks it for a b-day cake.  Well Jeff told me to tell him what I REALLY wanted for my cake so I pulled out this Martha recipe and to just give you an idea of how amazing it was it takes 8 boxes of cream cheese, a cup of sour cream and it takes over 2 hours to complete all the steps just to bake it.  Anyhow, it was heaven on a fork! 
     The next day Jeff arranged for my cute, sweet sister-in-law Ashley to watch the kids so that he could take me on an all day birthday outing.  Knowing that Jeff is not real big on planning surprises I was VERY interested to know what our day had in store for us.  We drove to Jackson Hole, the drive was, as always, beautiful!  We ate lunch in Jackson at a cute little Mexican restaurant.  We then went to Jenny Lake (it's at the base of the Tetons), I hadn't been there in a few years so I was elated!  It's such a magnificent stunning place!  The water is pristine and those mountains are absolutely majestic!!!  I love the hike around the lake so Jeff had a pack ready with water and jackets and we took off around that beautiful lake.  We hiked a couple miles around to the hidden falls on the other side of the lake and as always it was so glorious, it's definitely a must see!  So, a couple miles back to the car and we worked off our lunch, it was great!  Then we headed back to Jackson and went to the alpine slide in town, that made me feel like a teenager, like we were on a date!!!;0)  That was a blast!
     Jeff had reservations for us that night at the Bar-J-Wranglers Chuckwagon, he called and made them all by himself, impressive right?  I thought so!  That evening we enjoyed some down home cooking and fun western music/entertainment!  That is a must go if you're in our neck of the woods and want to experience some western culture!  It was a most delightful day!  Jeff totally put me at ease about turning 30!  He made me feel so special and loved!  I love that guy!  Sorry I don't mean to get all mushy, I can't hide the truth though!
     So, 30's not bad at all!  I feel more beautiful, confident and spontaneous than I ever have, and that's what will always keep me "young"!

I don't know why, but I don't have any pics of Noah and Lucy on my B-day!??  I'm a bad mom!