My 30th Birthday Week

This was my most memorable birthday filled with family and friends. I felt so loved and so blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life. Being 30 feels fantastic. I have an amazing family, a wonderful husband and 3 precious children. I couldn't ask for more. I had no idea what I was in store for.

We made plans to be in UT over my birthday for a family member's wedding. Well, the wedding didn't happen but we still thought it would be fun to do a little celebration in UT and take advantage of having family to help watch the kids.

The week started with good times with the family. We went to the park, played at Grandma Joan's house and went to Grandpa/Grandma Nielsen's house for a BBQ. The kids got to play with their uncles, Steven and Tomas. We loved the heat and the yard, a couple of the things we didn't have in San Francisco.

Our next adventure was going to Park City for a couple of days, just Rawley and me. Rawley's mom, sister and brother were so nice to help with the ninos. I was so excited and ready for a nice and relaxing time with Rawley. We stayed at the Waldorf Astoria, which was set in the mountains and oh so beautiful. It could not have been more refreshing, serene and perfect. We went to the pool, a nice Thai dinner, walked along Main Street, got caramel apples and watched a movie at the hotel. It was so nice not having to worry about anything.

The next day was devoted to me, thanks to my sweet husband. I spent an entire morning shopping. I walked into stores with no time limit, no children asking for snacks or running through the aisles and not having to stop at the playground. It was a morning just for me and I loved it. Then I met Rawley for lunch and we watched a movie at the theater. The movie was not memorable, but the fact that I got to shop for 4 hours then go to a movie was.

After, we went back to the hotel and got ready for dinner. I was so surprised to see some of our closest friends in front of 350 Main. Rawley had scored some big points. It was so good and so fun to be with everyone. We all went back to the hotel and got ready to go to the pool and hot tub. When we got there Rawley had balloons and cake and ice cream set up. It was such a fun night with our friends and so rare for us to be able to spend so much time like that with just the adults. I loved every moment. It honestly didn't think it could be a better birthday, or so I thought.....

We spent the next day at Ella's baby blessing (Scott and Michelle's new baby), which was at the Hendricksen's (Michelle's parents' house). I remember commenting on how beautiful their back yard was. It was such a great space for the family to hang out. Little did I know that I would be back there later that night and everyone knew except for me.

Joan, Kristi and Michelle were going to take me out to dinner for my birthday while the guys went to dinner with kids and Grandpa. As we were driving up to pick up Michelle, she called and asked us to come in to see Leah on the trampoline. I was in for the biggest surprise of my life and was in shock when I saw everyone yell SURPRISE when I opened the door. The picture below captures my reaction perfectly!

Not only did Rawley meticulously plan this surprise and coordinate with all of our friends and family without me finding out about it. He also planned for our family's favorite singer/songwriter, Jon Troast, to put on a concert for all of us in the backyard. I just could not believe all the effort and stress Rawley put into this especially with all of his other demands. I couldn't hold back the tears. I felt so loved by Rawley, by family and by friends who made this such a special night for me. What a lovely 30th Birthday.