30 - Part I

This Friday, October 17th, I turned 30 years old.

I like birthdays.

I like to celebrate with my friends and family, and was actually quite bummed that I wasn't going to be able to do so this year.

As it turned out, I felt surrounded by love and celebration all day long.

I can't thank everyone enough for making it one of the best birthdays I've ever had.

It started with flowers from my incredibly resourceful husband who figured out how to send me gerber daisies in Turkey.

I then made my way to what I thought was a second grade meeting, but ended up being a surprise 30th birthday party.
(click here for full photo album)



We then went home where I dove into cards and packages and emails.

The first package I opened was from my cousin Angela and her family.

After finding some tools and changing out the camera battery, I finally made it into the package.

My sisters package was next.  I was sure this box was going to make me laugh and it did not disappoint.

Words could not do the opening of this package justice, so thankfully we have video. 

Spooky CD at first proved to be just a normal amount of spooky...

But then, the Spooky CD took spooky to a new level with the spookiest spooky track you've ever heard.

The next piece of real mail came from my wonderful Nana.

Along with flowers, Chris also managed to find a birthday card in English.

I read the card, cried, then opened my present.

The rest of the night we spent Skyping with sisters and parents and opening more cards.

Ordered pizza and ate leftover homemade chocolate birthday cake.

I mentioned I love birthdays.  

My birthdays usually come in three celebratory parts, so look for parts II and III to be posted soon.

Thanks again to everyone for making my big 3-0 so special.