36!

My birthday celebration began last Friday night with some of my favorite friends at Pinstack.

We met four other couples at this upscale bowling alley and had a ball with everyone that night.

Somehow we missed getting Matt in the picture, but he was there, too!

Thank you, Hayley, Emily, Taylor, Mandy and your husbands, for making it a fantastic night for me!  We should do date night much more often:)

Two days later, my real birthday began with a song from my oldest child. Jackson came into my room, quietly singing "Happy Birthday to you" so as to not wake up Cami, who was asleep in my bed.  I got out of bed, hugged him, and went into the living room, where I was hugged by Lila as she said, "Happy Birthday mom!"  It was shaping up to be a great day, and it wasn't even 7 am.  By lunch time, I had received a few phone calls, lots of texts, and plenty of messages on Facebook, all wishing me a good day.  I was feeling the love for sure!

The good vibes kept on coming when my mom called and asked if we could go to lunch.  Cami and I joined her at A Taste of Home and even sat on outside to enjoy the spring day.

After we got back home, I got the BEST delivery--Tiff's Treats!  It was a box full of warm cookies from my sweet husband.  There were chocolate chip, sugar, snickerdoodle and M&M cookies.
And they were all fantastic!

That afternoon, I took the kids to play at the park while J had football practice, then we met Jared at soccer practice for Lila.  After the Bees were finished, the family all gathered at our house for my birthday dinner.  My mom had picked up chicken, pasta salad and caesar salad from Cafe Max and we dug in.  It was delicious!

I'm so thankful for these pretty ladies!

I'm also thankful for this little nut who stole her cousin's shirt, and then blew out my candles for me!  And let's not forget how thankful I was to not have a 36 on my cake--Jared gets credit for that one, too.

I got the sweetest cards from Maddie...  

and at least for one day, these two didn't require me to be their referee!

As I opened all my gifts, these two peas in a pod hung out.

I got the Amazon Echo (which is almost like having my own robot!), a beautiful white top, a neat baseball wreath that says "If we don't answer, we're at the ball field," and this very special gift from Shelley and Warren.  It has all of the best days in our lives and says "What a difference a day makes."  So true!

After presents, it was time for my final gift--a dance performance by the three girls.
Cami started things off with a bang!

Get it girl!

It was an eclectic sort of dance...

and ended with a sweet pose!

Thank you, mom and dad, for giving me life and celebrating this day with me.
I love you both dearly.

And thank you, hubby, for somehow pulling off a fantastic birthday.  You were working like a dog, going on no sleep, and still made it a point to bake me cookie bars and buy me thoughtful gifts.  You amaze me!  Thank you for making me feel special, not just on my birthday, but every day.
I love you!