The Big 3 - 0

This past Saturday was my 30th birthday! I always thought turning 30 would be difficult but now that it's here I realize I am actually excited to see what my 30's has in store for me. Jason had a full weekend of surprises for me that started Friday morning when I woke up.

As I came downstairs bright and early at 6 a.m. Jason held out a card to me and told me to go ahead and open it. Inside he explained that 1). He had  arranged for me not to work on Friday so I had the morning to do as I wished. 2). I could pick up my birthday present that morning and 3). I needed to pack a bag because we were going away for the weekend. He told me a week ago that we had dinner plans on Saturday night so I just figured he would take me to this restaurant that I have been wanting to try and maybe invite a few more people to join us. So you can imagine my shock after I read his card. I was on cloud nine.

An hour or two later Jason decided to show me what my birthday gift was because he knew that I would need to start getting ready in order to pick it up. He opened up his computer to show me two puppies and said I would get to choose which one to bring home. We have been looking for a new puppy to add to our family but have not had any luck finding the one we want. When he told me we were going to be getting a cockapoo ( a breed that I have had my eye on for a while now) the tears began to fall. :) Because of Jason's travel schedule last week he was unable to get things ready for my surprise getaway until Friday morning so he informed me that there was no way he would be able to go with me to pick up the dog. I called my mom to see if she would ride with me to Gaffney, S.C. and an hour and a half later we were on our way. Of course I immediately fell in love with both of the dogs and it broke my heart to have to choose but I knew getting both of the puppies was completely out of the question. After several phone calls to Jason and pictures of the puppies sent to his phone I finally decided on this sweet little girl.  Her name is Abby and we are in love. Emma on the other hand is still trying to get used to her.

Once I was back home we loaded up the car and were on our way to "the unknown" for the weekend. We began to make our way up Interstate 77 and as we pulled off an exit near Lake Norman I began to get an idea of where we were going. I figured we were staying in a house there for the weekend but I had no idea who, if anyone, would be joining us. As we got closer he did this to me and I stayed this way until I walked into the house.



Waiting inside for me were several people from my family along with Jason's sister and her husband. It was a wonderful surprise and I was so happy to see each person that was there. We spent the evening talking and laughing and they had all pitched in to make one of my favorite meals (salmon, rice, salad and green beans). Of course it's not a birthday without cake so I indulged in red velvet and cheesecake for dessert.

Saturday morning I noticed that my family was packing up to leave and I began to wonder what Jason and I were going to do in this big house by ourselves with a ton of hamburgers that Jason was preparing. By this point I was trying not to ask too many questions (the best I could for someone who is a HUGE planner).  One by one some of my closest friends began to show up and we spent the day enjoying good food and drinks by the water. It was an absolutely perfect weekend and I thank my amazing husband for putting it all together.