The Big 3-0 a.k.a. The Best Birthday EVER

Over the weekend I celebrated my 30th birthday! It was not an age I've been particularly dreading, I guess it's just a mental thing to know your twenties are behind you. As far as birthdays go, it really was one of the best I can remember.

My day started with an early morning run in Sabino Canyon.

Sabino Canyon at 6:40am -- the sun has already been up for a half hour!

Perhaps it isn't how most people would start their special day, but it was perfect in my book. It's been a long time since I ran the entire 8-mile out and back... I considered it mostly pride that since I was now 30 I had to do the whole thing. The weather was only slightly chilly which made for a very enjoyable run and I felt surprisingly good afterword, therefore rewarding myself with a stop at Paradise Bakery (same thing as Panera for all my family and friends back in Ohio) on the way home for a cinnamon crunch bagel. Yum, yum and yum. By the time I got home, Ellie was already up, fed and dressed for the day! She had been up since 6:45am much to Brian's disappointment who, by the way, was still in his pjs. Since I love my husband so much I bought two bagels -- a very welcome surprise for Brian.

After bagels, Brian and Ellie left to pick up my cake at Costco (Brian had actually requested their cake... who's birthday was it again?) and I was able to take a long shower in an empty house which, as most moms can appreciate, was one of the best.gifts.ever. I was able to take my time, do my hair and was all ready to leave by the time they came back with the cake. The design and writing were all Brian.

To top it off, Brian presented me with this gorgeous bouquet!

 Before leaving for lunch at Chipotle I requested a few pictures with my girl.

Oh, those funny faces.

We took separate cars to Chipotle so I could do a little shopping while Brian took Ellie home for a nap. I returned more than I bought, but sometimes that makes you feel a little bit better, doesn't it?

Opening Ellie's very sweet card to me after her nap.

Later that evening my two good friends, Wendy and Joel, came over for dinner and birthday cake. We had brats and kraut, another request from my husband (I've been giving him a hard time about hijacking my birthday but he knows how much I love him!). Joel is an amazing pianist so I bribed him with dinner and afterward he played the piano while I sang. After Ellie went down for bed, the four of us played Cards Against Humanity, a hilarious yet very politically incorrect card game similar in concept to Apples to Apples only with far more adult themed cards. We played for more than an hour and at times were all in tears from laughing so hard. It was a great way to cap off a fantastic birthday.

It's funny how birthday wishes tend to shift and evolve over the years. I feel so blessed and happily content this year that there wasn't anything I could think of that I really wanted for my birthday. That said, I did get the most wonderful birthday gift I have ever received: after coming home from from my morning run Brian brought Ellie over for a hug and, completely unprompted and unsolicited, she told me for the first time ever, "I love you." How can you top that?

As good as my twenties were, if the first day of this new decade is any indication of how the rest of my thirties are going to be, it will only get better from here!