Dave's 30th!

So my husband is 30, well, almost.
That seems weird. 30 all of a sudden sounds kind of old to me.
It seems like a big jump...from your 20's to being 30.
I don't mean ANYTHING to anyone over the age of 30. So take no offense.
It's just my first realization that we are there...well, okay, I'm not. I have a few more years.
But having my husband be there makes me realize I'll be there before I know it.
He's taking it in good stride...but I guess that's him.
No big deal.
April 27 is the official day.
He says it's one day closer to retirement.
I guess that's a good way to look at it.
If we even get retirement by the time it's our turn.

This past Saturday we celebrated with friends.

Surprises are 100% off limits for Dave. So he helped plan his party.
Being in the spotlight is also very off limits for Dave.
So I tried my best to add a few "birthday" touches, without too much attention on him.



So the kids and I made a banner.

I thought watercolors would be fun. But notice the large water spots (spills) on the paper.

Luckily we made it plenty of time in advance so it could dry before the party.


Now, this next idea was ALMOST crossing the line.
I asked Dave's mom if I could have a bunch of pictures to display.
When she brought them over and handed them to me in front of him, he said NO WAY.
He didn't even have a clue what I was going to do with them.

Luckily, I got him to change his mind and be okay with it.

No big deal, no humiliation (although there were a couple I just HAD to put up!)...just 30 years of Dave.



If you know Dave at all....you know how much he loves his garage.

So what better place to have the party.

His work bench was later full of food...smoked ribs, bbq beef sandwiches, hamburgers, cheesy potatoes, baked beans, chips, chinese salad

and later....

by request....chocolate sheet cake.

Do you remember the shirt I made for Mason's first birthday? My friend Kendall made one for Ollie too! The important thing is that whether you are 1, 2, or 30....a shirt is a must! This was Dave's gift from Joel and Kendall! Megan, your shirt idea is such a big HIT!


Dave's good friend, Quinci, and her husband Seth, from Topeka, were able to make it too! Dave and Quinci were best buds in college and it meant a lot to have her there! Thanks Quinci and Seth for making it to help celebrate!


I realize guys don't like to pose for pictures. I shouldn't have made them. They obviously would have looked way more relaxed if I would have just caught them in conversation.

Mike and Justin are both friends from highschool, and then Dave and Mike were roommates for part of college. Both guys were in our wedding.


We had some other cool people there...

like this guy....
who makes corn hole look like it is REALLY hard work.

and these cool fellas...

We were SO lucky on the weather. It was suppossed to rain. I cleaned my whole house to be safe...not knowing if they party would end up inside. But the evening was beautiful!

Just as beautiful as these lovely friends of mine...

BUT, just as the sun was going down and we were all enjoying the fire in our fire pit,
the wind shifted and blew fire and ashes at us like crazy. I mean LARGE pieces of fire. FLYING at us! EVERYWHERE! We ran....and screamed. Someone even screamed "STOP, DROP and ROLL!" Luckily, we didn't really have to.

The temperature took a huge drop and everyone started grabbing everything they could out of the yard and off the deck. Luckily we didn't lose any kids.

The rain had finally come. Quite rude...but I guess it could have been worse.

So we moved to the garage.

This is Dave and his sister, Stefanie, she's just a few years older. SHE on the other hand LOVED her surprise 30th a few years ago and ate up ALL the attention.....they are different in MANY ways! We loved having her and her husband, Steve, there as friends AND family!

They are both looking quite a bit cuter than they were in some of the pictures I had up!

It was a fun night with friends....Dave loved it!
Even though we didn't get to have that band he was wishing about for so long, it was still a great night....all for this guy.

Happy early birthday babe! I will love that baby face of yours ONLY until the day that others ask if you are younger than me (which, has happened a few times already...but I'll ignore them for now).

I realize that you don't like surprises and you don't like attention on you at all. But I don't think you've ever specified what I can and can't do on my blog. And since you're not really on spotlight in person, I think I'm safe. I just really feel the need to get a little bit more use out of those pictures your mom sent over, before I send them back. I may be putting my scanner to work very SOON...just in time for your REAL big day!!!