The Big 3-0

Last Thursday, I turned the big 3-0.  We enjoyed cake, and I opened presents.  The kids and Jim all made homemade cards.  Ethan's had a drawing of some buildings and a grassy boulevard area.  He explained that he did it "since you like pictures of Europe."  Super sweet :-)

Since it was a big birthday, we ended up taking a mini-vacation to Charlotte.  Jim had some hotel points so we were able to stay for free!  The hotel had a pool, which the kids loved, and Jim was able to get our room upgraded so we had some extra space!  Jim was really sweet and called a local balloon company so when we walked into the room there were 30 balloons in the hotel room!  The kids had a lot of fun with the balloons.  Eventually the balloons lost their strings, and they were a big floating mass of balloons :-).  

Since we were on "vacation," we kind of ignored bedtime and went to the pool for a bit before going to bed.  I don't think the kids minded :-).  The next morning the kids were up at 5:20 a.m.  Yeah, you read that right.  It was a little earlier than I was planning on getting up, but it was okay.  While the kids were watching the Disney Channel (a big treat for them), I went downstairs to grab a cup of coffee. I got the kids some hot cocoa, which they appreciated... especially Verity :-).

We went down for breakfast and then went back to the pool.  Then we left to go drive through downtown Charlotte.  About 3 minutes in the car and Micah and Verity were OUT!  That's what happens when you go to bed at 10 and get up at 5:30 ;-).

 Ethan contented himself with a Cracker Barrel game in the back.

When we got there, Micah was NOT happy to be woken up.  Hence the face.

Here is a statue that we stopped to see.  The kids had a good time running through its legs; I'm not sure if that's what the artist had in mind when he/she designed the statue.  I love the pic of Verity bookin' it :-).

Then we were off lunch at "Nothing But Noodles" where Ethan was excited to eat his spaghetti with chopsticks and where Verity thoroughly enjoyed her pizza.

Lastly we were off to IKEA, which was a little overwhelming, but still lots of fun.

It was a great birthday getaway, and I was thankful to spend it with my wonderful family.