Dirty 30

It's been a while, I know. We've been incredibly busy so far this summer so it's been hard to just sit down and get the photos off of my camera. Let's see... Jessie, Chris, and Ethan drove their Michigan butts all the way out here for my 30th. It was the best weekend ever. I wish sooooo much that we could spend more time together. I miss my BFF and just don't get to see her enough. We went to the "Back to the 50's Classic Car Show". It was HUGE! And I say this as a veteran of the Woodward Dream Cruise. It blew my mind how many cars and people were there. I was told it was just shy of 12,000 cars. So we whipped through it pretty fast since we had the little ones with us... and my attention span was growing short. Then we went to dinner at the Spaghetti Factory in Minneapolis. So much fun! I've never been there so I didn't know what to expect. We got there about 4:30 (I know, blue-hair special) and the restaurant didn't open till 5. But they had a remedy: their lounge was open. So we hung out and the kids were so well behaved, it's like they knew we were having a special night. Then Saturday we went to the Zoo. Pretty standard zoo trip, except for Claire having an alergic reaction to sunscreen. Scary! But we water-boarded her right there in the cafe (laid her down and rinsed out her eye) to much screaming. But about 30 minutes later she was good-to-go. That eveing was my Dirty 30 birthday party. It was a great eveing spent here at the house bbq'ing shish kabobs and enjoying some cold beers and great friends. We topped off the night with a bonfire complete with s'mores. Which I have discovered are quite complicated. ;) For Father's day Tim got a new Weber grill. We'll be breaking her in this weekend. We took Tim and Chris to the Freighthouse for Father's Day. Then sadly, the Shamie's had to depart on their loooong trip home. =( All-in-all, it was more than I could hope for on my birthday. Now, on to another 30 years!

Claire and Ethan chillin'

Jessie, Chris, & Ethan at the Minnesota Zoo

Claire is ready for the Zoo!!!!

This is Claire in the freezing cold pool....

This is Claire taking the liberty of removing herself from the freezing cold pool.

Claire has her very own Adirondack chair!

Turning 30 has made me realize how much I have to be thankful for. I know I whine and complain about things and have a never-ending "wish-list" but I also have soooo much. Namely: a healthy beautiful daughter, loving & ever-patient husband, dear family (all over the midwest), incredible friends who do so much for me (make food for my party even though they are the guests or are 38.5 weeks prego), and a pretty cool house over my head. I pray for a lot of stuff but I really need to pray in thanks for the life I live. I can only hope that everyone is this happy! So next time any of you here me utter a complaint about work or "Ooo, I'd give my left arm for _____", you have my full permission to flick me. But not too hard.

If I haven't told you lately, I love you. I heard a quote once, probably at Team of Destiny, "You are who you surround yourself with." Well, I must be a pretty cool person because I have the best friends and family a girl could ask for.

Slainte,

Kelly Jane