31

Well, I hung on to 30 as long as I could. Today I am officially IN my 30s and not just 30. I have had one of the best birthdays I can remember. We started celebrating on Friday with a family party. 8 of us have birthdays between September 14th and October 3rd, so we have one big party every year and pass around funny cards and eat way too much. This year, Nana planned a murder mystery dinner at Granny and Granddad's house and arranged for a sitter at her house. The mystery was really fun. Four of us were investigators, Mat was the sheriff, and the others played various characters. The neat thing was that no one knew who did it; not even Kara, and she did it! We had a great time and of course great food and birthday deserts.

Sunday we brought Grandma Charlotte home with us. She watched Reese for me while I worked all day Monday. After work, Nana took me out to dinner to celebrate our birthdays and then we did a little shopping before I headed home. Today Charlotte and I got to go kidless shopping while the girls were at school/mother's day out! It was a fun morning for us and we made the local businesses very happy. After school, we took Soren to swim team and then went out for some more birthday celebrating before coming home to the largest chocolate birthday cake I have ever seen. Pete brought the cake home from a bakery in Glen Rose and it was wonderful.

Now Reese is bouncing off the walls and the rest of us are swimming with a major sugar high. What else are birthdays for? It has been a great one for me. Thank you so much to everyone for all of the well wishes and gifts. I am so blessed.

and this is our newest addition to the family. Tiffy was brought home from Grandma's house after Pete's race. This is her getting a bath. She loves it.