Best. Birthday. Ever.

I've had a lot of birthdays - 30, to be exact.

I've had some really great ones:

• 8th birthday: big kid party, treasure hunt, games, fun!
• 11th birthday: huge slumber party
• 16th birthday: the boy I was in lurve with surprised me with an ice skating trip with my friends (heart aflutter!)
• 19th birthday: fulfilling the lifelong goal of eating in the Pirates of the Carribean restaurant at Disneyland (awesome!!)
  
• 21st birthday: Vegas, baby. (For the BYU/Airforce conference game)

I've had some not-so-great ones:

• 5th or 6th (can't remember): going to Chuck-E-Cheese, but throwing up in the entrance and having to go home. (So traumatic!)
• 17th birthday: having to make my own birthday cake because my mom was sick. (Not that I held it against her at all; but it was pretty depressing. Hence my rule that no one should ever have to make their own birthday cake.)

But yesterday took the proverbial cake - it was undoubtedly the best birthday ever! All because of the Best. Husband. Ever. (Just a warning - after reading this you're going to agree that my husband is the best husband ever. Well, hands off. He's mine. Go get your own. Or make yours read this as a rather large hint.)

The day began at 6:45am. (He had told me he had an early meeting that day, so I thought nothing of it when he woke up an hour earlier than usual.) Lance woke me up with breakfast in bed: a McDonald's pancake breakfast, complete with burning candle in the biscuit. Why McDonald's? My dad used to take us out to McDonald's for breakfast as kids. So sweet!

While I was eating he gave me a small stack of papers stapled together. This was on top:


I tore off the first page and came to this:


Lance explained that he was taking the day off and that anything I was going to do that day, he would do for me. I couldn't believe it. I started naming all the errands I had to run and things I needed to do: take Spencer to preschool, go to the library with Josh, pick up some stuff for church, etc. etc. He smiled and said it was all taken care of. I said I with I hadn't cleaned the house on Friday and done the laundry yesterday. I tore off the next page:


Then I dug into breakfast while reading my latest book. (Eclipse - yeah, I know I'm behind the times. I have one more chapter to finish after this post!)

Lance got the kids up and started getting them ready for the day. He had me look at the next page:


Then I opened a package he gave me - the 7th season of ER. I am an ER junky - I get a season of ER for every birthday and then have ER marathons. I lurve it. Mucho.


I lounged in bed until Lance took Spencer to preschool. I had been planning lounging in bed, reading, all morning. But he had me open the next page, and said that I'd probably want to get up and showered.


I had never received blue geishas before, so it piqued my curiosity. :) I read for another hour and finally got showered. I spent the next couple hours reading and watching ER.

The boys got home, and Lance was sad that my geishas hadn't arrived. But he did come home with this:

An AWESOME chocolate orange cake made by the AWESOME Heidi Fry. She's such a great friend!! She remembered my rule about not making your own birthday cake, and offered to make one for me. So nice!!

Lance had me open the next page:

Then he presented me with this:

A gift certificate for a 30 minute massage. He said I could go out and use it today, if I wanted. (I decided not to: I hadn't shaved my legs, and I wanted to do some Christmas shopping!) Sooooo happppppy!!!

Then I opened the next page:

Then I got this:


A $30 gift card to Borders because reading is my current drug of choice. Actually, it is always my drug of choice, but just more so as of late. And sometimes I hate having to wait for books on hold at the library. Heaven!

Lance made us a yummy lunch, and then I headed out for an afternoon of shopping. I basically have all of my Christmas shopping done. Hooray! And so much easier without two little boys running around, terrorizing the store.

After several hours I got home to these:


These were my 'blue beauties' - 30 blue irises! So pretty!

(Side note: Apparently the FedEx guy was supposed to come in the morning but was late. Plus, the original vase that they came in was broken. So Lance called the company and they sent these, free of charge, today:


So now I have 60 irises now. Plus, I got to have flowers delivered to me, something I've always wanted. So happy!)

Anywho, I then got this page:


I'm not sure what it said, but it's Korean. Lance told me a sitter was coming for the kids and that we were going to the Kibu Cafe, which I have been wanting to try for a while. We were the only people in the place that spoke English as a first language: definitely a good sign. It was sooooo good! We ordered way too much food; perfect for leftovers.

We hurried home, knowing that we would be in big trouble with a certain soon-to-be-four-year-old if we didn't do the cake and candles thing before bed. We did, and then I got to open my presents from the boys.


Definitely funny. Lance had let them pick them out themselves. From Josh: a half-eaten bag of Truffle Hershey Kisses (yummo) and, more randomly, a ball of hemp twine. (I think he thought it was a regular ball.)


From Spencer: a 'sun catcher' kit. (The kind with the tube-like beads that you iron together to make them stick.) He immediately said "I want to do it! Now!" and was very offended when I told him that it was time for bed. (Such a mean, mean mom.)


We enjoyed some of the best cake I have ever had. (Thanks again, Heidi!) The boys especially enjoyed it! (Who's birthday was it again?)


Lance put the boys to bed and then presented me with this page:


Lance massaged my feet while we watched another episode of ER. HEAVEN!! Again!!!

Like I said: BEST. BIRTHDAY. EVER.

I have the BEST. HUSBAND. EVER.

I think I'll turn 30 again next year.