Happy Birthday to Me!

Today I turned 29! It's funny because it just seems weird to think that I'm almost done with my 20's, but I really don't feel any different. Everyone keeps teasing me about getting old, and I have no problem with playing along, but I still feel pretty young. I've gotten really good at pretending to be an adult, I think I can keep it up for a while longer before anyone catches me! As you can see in most of the pictures, my skin is rebelling the age and decided I was due to have some fun zits. Just a couple days ago I was thinking, wow, my skin has been doing really well lately! I jinxed myself I think!

My morning started off with a couple good stretches. I've been doing stretches every morning since I had to go the chiropractor, and the kids like to join me. (McKee did a great job taking some pics for me today.) Tyler thinks I'm laying on the floor so he can jump on me! I spent most of the day hanging out with the kids, and talking to Rachel on the phone. I really didn't too much that was productive, and I didn't mind that too much! The kids spent a lot of their time downstairs playing and then outside in the back yard. Brooke and I played Barbie's for a while, that was fun.

When Mike got home from work, I was pleasantly surprised with some birthday gifts. Rulon and Rebecca were very thoughtful and left a gift for me before they left for their trip. It was a $25 gift card for Joann's and a couple 50% off coupons good for this week...now I just have to figure out what I want to buy! Rebecca also left a strawberry cake mix and strawberry frosting so Mike could bake me a b-day cake! Thanks guys, I really appreciate your thoughtfulness. On a side note, Mike managed to prepare and bake the cake for 29 minutes last night as I sat at the computer posting yesterday's entry and I didn't notice until 1 minute before the timer went off! He's sneaky, and I apparently was oblivious and really tired to not have noticed. It sounded like he was cleaning up the kitchen. I really had no idea what he was doing! Mike and the kids got me a really pretty pair of earrings, thanks again to McKee for taking these pictures, and a deck of cards that are clear plastic. I love collecting fun cards, I have a couple of colored decks I've acquired the last couple Christmases. For a long time I've really been wanting a pac man game and Mike and the kids got one for me! I'm so excited! Mike and I hooked it up quick tonight and played for a couple minutes. We're really going to have some fun with that! Mike didn't really get a chance to wrap the presents since I'm always around, and he was at work today, so he had the kids hand deliver them to me! Brooke had the batteries behind her back after she figured out what she was supposed to be doing! She brought me the earrings first and put them behind my back for me to find! It was really cute! In one of the pics, after I opened up my Joann's card, Tyler is cheesing around Brooke, it's really cute, I have to put it up here.

After some gifts, we loaded up the kids and took my newly acquired bogo coupon to the Old Country Buffet for dinner! I love the ranch dressing there, it reminds me of my high school salad bar that I actually really liked! The have fun hats for the kids, kind of like the burger king crowns.

It's nice because the kids can pick what they want, and they actually eat without complaining! They even had a couple things that Tyler could eat without worrying too much about his allergies! I was able to get steak and roast beef, mashed potatoes, and of course a salad smothered in ranch (I guess it was ranch with a little bit of lettuce and some tomatoes, but who's keeping track? It's my birthday, I'll pig out if I want to!) We got out of there for only $16, that's not bad for a family of 6, especially considering the type of food we ate. Mike was able to have some fish and steak also. It was really fun. I was smart and wore my stretchy pants this time! I can't seem to get the boys to really cooperate for a good picture that often, this was no exception. I barely got Mike to smile for a picture. He was a little more cooperative when Brooke was behind the camera!

And then there's Tyler who cheese's up every time he sees the camera!

When we finished stuffing ourselves, we left and took a nice drive down by the lake and just enjoyed the beautiful sunshine. Then we headed home for some birthday cake. Mike almost sang a solo Happy Birthday to me song, the kids joined in at the end. I think they're used to me singing along, but I didn't really want to sing to myself! Mike carried the cake in with the candles lit, and McKee again was our photographer. I made a wish, I can't tell you or it won't come true, and then I blew out the candles! I actually pretended to blow out the candles a second time so we could get a shot of me "blowing out the candles." The cake was delicious!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot...my visiting teachers came over just before we did gifts and left for dinner to wish me a Happy Birthday. Kirsten Bybee and Jolynn Frasier. The bought me a beautiful lily plant that I can transplant outside into my garden, and a handmade card. The called Mike earlier in the day to set it up with him so we'd be home but it was a surprise to me. They were so thoughtful! Here's my beautiful flower with my beautiful daughter who just had to get in the picture!

It was a wonderful day. Thanks to everyone who was so sweet to send me an email, or call and wish me a happy b-day, I really appreciate being thought of, more than you know! Watch out for next year, I'm going to have a slumber party for my 30th birthday! It will be loads of fun!