Celebrating 30

Andre invited our neighbors A and J over for a fondue meal the night before my birthday that he'd prepared.

The kids "woke" me up with birthday coffee cake that Andre had made, huge smiles of excitement on their faces that it was Mom's birthday, and we get cake for breakfast! They also love to give (and wrap) gifts, another part of the birthday breakfast.

The night of my birthday (Sunday the 29th), he took me on a "date"--or so I thought! The only thing he told me was who the sitter was and how to dress, and what time we were leaving. We headed to Stillwater and ended up at Alcupulco Restaurant, where instead of getting a table for two we were taken to the group room, where my family and a couple family friends were waiting for a surprise birthday party! My parents and sister had planned the dinner, complete with tons of balloons, flowers, cake, etc, and my sister had contacted a bunch of old and current friends to write in letters of appreciation that she compiled in a folder for me (thank you--you know who you are!--many of the notes brought tears to our eyes when Andre and I read them later). Definitely a great way to celebrate turning 30!