Older and Wiser...

Thirty years old?! C-RAAA-ZY!

John surprised me on Friday (and I use the word surprise lightly...) for my birthday. The doorbell rang Friday afternoon and when we opened the door a wrapped present was sitting there on our porch. I opened it up and there was a swim suit cover up and a bottle of sunblock. "We're going to the beach!" I went upstairs and started packing!

John got home a few minutes later, and we finished packing pretty quickly. (I've been trying to figure out who my husband enlisted to drop off the present, but as I write this I think he parked up the street, and did it himself, with the old doorbell ditch and run.)

As we were leaving...

"Did you get the beach umbrella?" I asked John

"Yep," he replied.

"What about the beach chairs?"

"In the trunk."

We were in the car, the garage door was closing when I spotted all the boogy boards still in their places in the garage, "Wait, you didn't get the boogy boards!"

"There wasn't enough room," he replied.

"What???? You know if we are going to the beach I am going to be really upset that I don't have a boogy board........................................... wait... we aren't going to the beach are we?"

Okay, then, I was surprised.

John surprised me with a trip to Water Country U.S.A. Funny? Yes. But, he knows of my love for all things water, especially water parks (season pass holders to Seven Peaks when we lived in Utah, and Six Flags when we lived in Maryland). I love Water Country. I even went there on my first date. Okay, technically second date, the first date was the night before, and the next day we went to Water Country.

Anyway, so, we dropped the kids off at my sisters and we spent the night in Williamsburg, (Can I just tell you what a bad week it was last week? I was ready for a much needed night away from home, and work, and Mallary screaming...) and headed to Water Country in the morning.

Here is one of my favorite highlights from the trip. (The last time John and I went to Water Country hold some pretty funny memories with John, this trip didn't disappoint...)

We were headed down the elevator for breakfast and we had to wait for it with this OLDER (keep that in mind, older) couple, who we greeted with a smile, a nod, and John said, "Good Morning." The elevator arrived, we stepped in, and before you could even get used to that weird silence that you ride in elevators to, John says, "So, are you headed to Water Country USA today?" There was a brief pause, (like, "is he talking to us???") and then they burst out laughing, and we burst out laughing. The elevator stopped, and they said, "We'll leave that to you two." We told each other to have a good day, and we all walked out of the elevator smiling. And, that is one reason why I like my husband.

So, as we head to the water park John tells me he wanted to take me there for my birthday because he wanted me to still feel young. He was worried that I thought I was getting old turning thirty and all. However, it had the opposite effect on me. Within being there less than an hour I felt soooo old. We almost flipped over on a slide, as we hit the water after another ride we flew off the inner tube and John hit me in the head, and I was never more aware of my "old" body while walking around a billion bikini clad teenagers.

While waiting in line for a ride, "Feel this," I said to John pointing to my obliques, "this is from spinning. And this," pointing to my soft belly,"is from your children."

We had fun, it was relaxing, and we realized we need to go on more dates. I read two and a half books this weekend, and I got what I really wanted all along for my birthday, to eat at a seafood buffet!!!! I love those places. All the crab legs you can eat!!!!!! That equals heaven to me. I had seven crab leg clusters. I could have eaten more... I should have eaten more...

My dad and my sister, Marianne also came to my sister Candi's house and we celebrated my birthday yesterday with TWO cakes!! John asked me what cake I wanted for my birthday, and I handed him two recipes I had printed off the Internet a week before. Looking at the two recipes he asked which one I wanted, and I replied, both. The recipes are here and here. He did a really good job, and thank you to his helpers as well.

See how smoky it was from my candles?

My niece, Jenna made me a card for my birthday giving me descriptive words about who I am with the first letter used from all the letters in my name. For the letter Y, she said I was still young. Isn't that sweet?

I am still young... even if Water Country made me feel old.

Thanks, Honey!

So thoughtful

I love presents. I love gifts. I love giving them. I love receiving them. I love shopping for them. I love wrapping them. I love opening them (but not in front of other people, I always feel so weird), and I love watching other people open them.

My mom would always say I was hard to shop for. (for some reason, John says the same thing even when I give him a list, go figure) I think I am easy to shop for. I like almost everything. When in doubt, a great platter or bowl will always be welcomed. That doesn't seem so complicated does it?

My mom eventually stopped buying clothes as gifts for me, unless my sister was there to pick something out. I told her not to buy me any more clothes, because it was always a strike out. I wasn't one to lie, but I tried to get nicer as I got older, "Thanks mom, but I don't like it."

I think my birthday was always stressful for my mother, I was hard to please for some reason. Probably because I wasn't the most gracious receiver.

Seriously. There is a family joke every Christmas where at least a few people will say to me, "Are you going to crawl underneath the dining room table?" or "Did Holly get underneath the dining room table this morning?" When I was younger, one Christmas I did not get what I asked for and I went and sat underneath the dining room table to pout about it. I still hear about it every year. Christmas morning was usually a grouchy one for me, as was my birthday.

My poor husband trying to get me gifts is pretty hard too. I am very demanding on holidays. He knows I do not want flowers, no candy in my stocking, and a new one has been added recently, no cd's or dvd's. I just want him to put some thought into a gift, not just go to what is easiest. We have also often set monetary limits on gifts, and he frequently breaks those. Like, last year for our anniversary he got me a Tom Tom (which he said was because he knows I don't like getting lost, and he'd be lost without me) but I made him take it back because it was over our monetary limit, and I didn't like the thought that he had really bought himself a gadget for my anniversary present. I'm a stinker, I know. (Though, honestly I wish I had kept it now)

My favorite thing about gifts is the thought that goes behind them. I keep telling John that he doesn't need to necessarily spend money on me, if he did something that was really thoughtful it would have five times the impact of a store bought gift. I love to see what people come up with when buying a gift. The thought of someone planning and scheming for a gift or a surprise for you is really what makes the gift so fun. Those gifts are the most fun to give too.

I really try to give thoughtful gifts. I have a friend (she knows who she is) that I think is so hard to give to, because I just can't figure out the right gifts for her and she usually buys herself something that I had planned on getting her. So I usually give her something that I would like. More than once (okay a lot of times) I have bought her something and at the same time buy it for myself as well. John doesn't like when I do that, he says, "it's not right to buy someone a gift and buy yourself the same thing at the same time." I don't see a problem with it.

Often with gifts, I shop all year round for birthday and Christmas presents. I have a drawer I put all my future gifts in. My mom had a closet at the end of the upstairs hallway that she kept gifts in. My sister and I went through that closet last year and made piles for everyone. So, even though my mom had passed away, everyone still got gifts from her at Christmas.

But, let me tell you about the torture of that closet. If I was invited to a birthday party as a child, usually my mom would make me pick out a gift from the closet to give to that person instead of going to the store to buy something. Sometimes there were decent things to give, but I usually threw a fit that I had to choose something out of the closet. The worst time ever will always be in my memory.

I was in middle school, and my friend was having a slumber party. The closet choices were slim pickings. Seriously. I threw the biggest fit ever, and was tortured the whole time at the party thinking of her having to open what I wrapped. You guys, for a middle school girl I wrapped up a Tide (as in the laundry detergent) Dale Earnhardt (as in Nascar!!) tee-shirt. I was seriously so embarrassed. Just think if I chose that what my other option had to have been!! (I can't remember what it was) She made me feel a little better after she opened it and said she loved Nascar, but she could have just been a very gracious faker. I think that was one of my most embarrassing moments ever.

Before I got married I told John that my birthday was celebrated for a whole week, not just on that day. He didn't believe me. After the first of my birthdays we celebrated together I told him he needed to call my mom and ask her about the week long celebrations. (They didn't start until I was older, and I only remember them after I started college when I was home in the summers. In my family everyone got to pick out every meal for their birthday, but during my birthday week I got to choose dinner for the whole week.) So, my mom confirmed my story of the week long celebrations, and John had to kick it up a notch.

My dear friend Becky remembered this story, and did something so sweet and thoughtful for my upcoming 30th birthday. This year I get to celebrate my birthday all month long!!! I get to open up 30 gifts in 30 days!! Isn't that the sweetest thing ever?!?! (Today I got fancy schmany, cute, cute socks)

Seriously, thoughtful gifts are my FAVORITE!! It is so, so sweet! Thank you dear Becky!!!!