An Anniversary I'll Never Forget!

Yesterday was our 7th wedding anniversary! Joe and I have spent the last 7 years learning and growing and falling more in love with each other. We had a great time looking back on how far we have come and how far we will go in the next 7 years. One thing I always look forward to on our anniversary is fresh flowers. Although we had talked about it the day before, I was still caught off guard yesterday morning when Joe was standing at the bottom of the stairs with a dozen white roses, and even better an IHOP to go bag filled with Chocolate Chip Pancakes. At this point I thought how could the day get any better, except that we had a nice quiet dinner planned at Outback!

This is how my day started.....

This is how it ended.....

Ahh, that's sweet you say, a dinner for 2 at Outback. Well...not exactly!

See, my birthday is Friday and this one happens to mark 30 years of life for me, which I must say has hit me pretty hard. I told Joe awhile ago, I'd love to do something special for my birthday with all the people that are special to me and it doesn't have to be a surprise, I just don't want to plan it. So my Hubby and Sister and Best friend all conspired to bring me a wonderful surprise. Instead of a quiet dinner for 2, I had dinner with all my favorite people!

Joe booked the back room at Outback and orchestrated quite the fib to get me there! I wasn't happy with him walking into the restaraunt, but that soon changed and I understood why he was 45 minutes late gettting home.

It was perfect...walking into a room and looking at everyone that was there and I just kept seeing more and more faces of people I have known my whole life, to 20 years, to 15 years to just one year. What an amazing time to get to spend with people I love...it takes a little of the bitterness out of turning 30.

So to my Hubby, Sister, and Best Friend, and all those who conspired, thank you for pulling this one off, I know it wasn't easy, but you made it the best "Anniversary" Birthday Party I've ever had! I love you all! And special thanks to you Papa Joe for the role you played in all this and to Kim for the amazing DVD of my life that you made, I'll treasure it always!

Mark, Heather, Kevin, Jamie, Chris and Amy - all friends from our Bible Study, but so much more!

Chris and Jessica, Brad and Katrina - Joe's buddies growing up, my gals now!

Jeff, Jeanette, Mark, Jenny, Dr. Lee and Mrs. Lee - more like family than friends. Besides my family, these are the people that have known me over 15 years!

Mom and Dad, Kim and Brent, Chris and Jen - This is my family, parents, brother and sister!

Papa Joe, Barbara and Nana with their adorable grandchildren! They have been my family for the last 7 years!

What a Weekend!

We started off the weekend with the Judds at Pizzeria at the beach. It was yummy, although for dinner we sat 4 adults, 2 toddlers and 2 babies at a 4-top table! Hey, you'll do anything when the kiddos are hungry. Carter and Anna had to hang out in the double stroller and Erin and Anderson shared a chair!

Saturday we packed up and went to the Bay, Erin's new favorite beach! We met Papa Joe and Baba there and had a Bojangles picnic on the beach. It was the perfect beach day until yet again the rain chased us away!

Isn't she the sweetest thing, sleeping on Papa Joe!

Saturday evening the Jacksons brought over some steaks to grill. We had stopped at a produce stand and bought some corn, potatoes and fresh peaches for cobbler. It was a yummy meal on the deck and then it was off to bed for the kiddos and cards for the parents!

Sunday it was back to the beach after good long naps after church. We headed to the bay at Ocean View and then joined the Maggiores for dinner at Ship's Cabin. Yummy seafood and a beautiful view - what a way to end a perfect family weekend!