30 Years...

A week ago I celebrated my thirtieth birthday; a milestone I always thought would make me feel older. I guess I'll be waiting some more. I still feel like a kid! I don't think I'm ever going to feel old enough to have my three children. God blessed me with eternal youth. I'm sure someday it's going to catch up with me, but for now I'm enjoying my "kid" status. Over the summer I had two different individuals think I was my 10 year old daughter's age. Now I know that's a bit extreme, but who am I to complain?

I am very fortunate to have such a wonderful family and friends. God knew exactly what He was doing when He placed me in the care and friendship of these fine people. I love them all so much!

A few days before my birthday, my family threw me a party. It was so weird for me not to be included in the planning, or the setting up process. All I did was show up, at my own house. The party was a BBQ in the backyard, along with an outdoor movie theater. Everything was perfect! They put so many special details into the entire evening.

One week before my birthday is Lucille Ball's birthday. If she was alive today she would have been celebrating 101 years! I Love Lucy! Last year, for her 100th birthday, I threw her a party. This year, for my 30th, my family put together an I Love Lucy themed party for me. It was so much fun, and I wouldn't have changed a thing about the entire evening.

My party started with a video. My sister mentioned that for someone who complains I never get my picture taken, there sure were a lot of photos of me. I had to laugh when I re-watched the video later because a large percentage of the pictures of my adult life, I took myself with a tripod. Some of the photos might look candid, but really, I'm great at running into my timed photo and pretending for a few seconds while the photo is snapped. That's not to say I don't have candid moments with my children. It's just a lot of the real moments are not photographed.

Outside in the backyard, there was a photo booth set up. We all wore black & white in honor of I Love Lucy being filmed without color. This made for some great photos since we all matched. If you remember, I donated all my summer clothes, so I had to make a trip that morning to my favorite store, Goodwill. I found a black & grey shirt for $2!! I love the deals you get there! (I have to say, I also found the brand new Muppet movie for only $3! Happy Birthday to me!)

During the opening credits of I Love Lucy you will often see two cartoon characters representing Lucy and Ricky Ricardo. My husband and I tried to mimic this pose. We didn't get the pose quite right the first time, but this is still my favorite picture of us from the evening.

By the time all our photos were taken, and we were all posed out, the BBQ was ready. The food was amazing! They chose all my favorites! The only thing not pictured on my plate was deviled eggs. They didn't last long enough for me to take their picture. I had to sample them quickly!

During the movie we had snacks to share, cotton candy and caramel popcorn. Very delicious! By the end of the night I couldn't have eaten another bite. I was so stuffed!

Before we settled in for my favorite funniest episodes of Lucy we all danced to some oldie music. "Come on baby let's do the twist."

The atmosphere was enchanting! I loved it. I think the lights added a lot to the charm of the outdoor movie theater.

"Time and Tide wait for no man, but time always stands still for a Woman of Thirty." -Robert Frost