My birthday is on October 6 and my sister's birthday is October 16. We got together on October 2 to celebrate what I thought was Erin's birthday since she'll be out of town on her birthday. My family and David's were together to celebrate, but Ame was running late. When she pulled into the driveway mom told Erin and I that Ame was late because she was picking up a present for both of us. She had us sit side by side in the kitchen and close our eyes. When she told us to open them I looked around, felt a squeeze on my hand from the chair beside me and looked over into the face of my best friend, Isabel! What a wonderful surprise! My mom had actually flown Isabel and her 14 month old son, Quique, to NC for my birthday. I was so surprised and delighted!
This was truly the best birthday I've ever celebrated. Thirty isn't so bad after all! We continued to celebrate all weekend. On Saturday we all went to Carrigan Farms. We took a hayride to the pumpkin patch, picked our own pumpkins, petted some animals at the "petting zoo" (which pretty much consisted of some pigs, goats, a miniature horse and some chicks), then took a hayride back to the beginning where we had apple cider. We then had a picnic by the lake and walked through the corn maze. The weather was gorgeous - about 72 degrees. It was a really fun celebration.
On Sunday we went to my nephew, Patrick's, birthday party. He turned 5 this year - so hard to imagine that he's already 5! He's really grown up. The other day I was watching the video where he and Kaitlyn met Xander for the first time - he was only 3 then and Kaitlyn was almost 5. They're so big now! My sister put on a beautiful party. It was great for kids and adults alike! They had a bouncing castle and their awesome playground for the kids. There was a bonfire, tiki torches, beautiful fall decorations, excellent chicken stew, homemade ice cream and lots of other yummy treats.
Isabel, Quique, Xander and I enjoyed being together for the next few days. We really didn't do much except hang out at the house, cook, eat, and talk. David had to work during the day, but it was fun to hang out with him and Isabel in the evenings. The only thing we were missing was Isabel's husband, Luis. The four of us have a really good time together! Honestly, Xander never really warmed up to Isabel and Quique. He's going through another round of stranger and separation anxiety right now, so having strangers in his house was kind of rough on him, therefore, it was difficult for me, too. I loved having Isabel and her sweet baby here, though, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful friend. I hadn't seen Quique since last August - about 2 weeks after he was born. It was great to see how much he's changed and grown up! I pray that one day he and Xander will be good friends - we'll just have to get past the stranger anxiety first. :)
I took Isabel and Quique to the airport on Wednesday, my birthday. It was difficult to say goodbye, but I know she was missing her husband and I was ready for Xander to get back to normal. I truly enjoyed her visit, though. I'm already looking forward to our next visit even if I have no idea when that will be.
That evening Mimi and Grandma came to get Xander, while David and I went out to my favorite restaurant, Sole. It's a Spanish restaurant with amazing tapas and the best sangria I've ever had. It was a great evening. While we were there David gave me my birthday gift. I opened a card and on the inside it said "Coupon good for one spa treatment - at Palace Resorts Spa." The Palace Resorts are in Cancun! I was so shocked when I read that! He's taking me there in January!! I'm so excited. This is where we went on our honeymoon and then again on our "babymoon" when we wanted to have a big vacation pre-children. What a great present! My husband knows me so well - he knows that I love going on vacation to relax and mostly do nothing. He knows I love going to the spa, but mostly he knows that I love him and that my favorite thing to do is spend time with him. I certainly wasn't expecting such a big gift for my 30th birthday, but I'm so thankful that he and I get to have some time away together!
As usual, I was horrible at taking pics and then when I wanted to, my camera batteries were dead. Therefore, I'll post more pics as soon as I get the disc from Isabel. She got some really good ones! Here are the ones I got - lol. :)
