29 is Pretty Fine...

...so far, at least. It has only been two days...

It would be an understatement to say that yesterday (my 29th birthday) was a day to remember.

I woke up to donuts from Ellie and beautiful Tiffany's earrings from Mom. #awesome

When I got to work, I was greeted by a mailbox full of cotton balls. #notatallawesome

At that moment, I thought that was the extent of Jon's "getting me back" for making him wear a UCLA shirt and tutu.... boy was I wrong.

When I opened the door to my classroom, about 2,000 cotton balls covered every possible surface I would need to touch to get through the day. #sonotatallawesome

I'd been played. Well.

In addition to the ridiculous onslaught of cotton balls, a few of my other coworkers had "broken in" to my classroom to decorate it NICELY with lights, banners, balloons, etc. I certainly felt loved by them! #completelyawesome

Throughout the day, some of my kiddos brought me posters, SBUX cards, and other fun little gifts. 

After work, when I went to home school, I was given an amazing lemon cake, card, and balloon. Seriously?! So sweet! #theawesomecontinues

I thought I was getting ridiculously spoiled...

I had no idea.


I knew my birthday dinner was planned for Tahoe Joe's with the Georges and Gruebers--it is tradition, of course. I had an inkling that Mama might have invited a few others to dinner, but again, I had no idea.

As we drove past the Marketplace, I knew something was up, but I had NO IDEA what was awaiting me as we sauntered into the Chef's Choice Noodle Bar downtown--a huge surprise! #ridiculouslyawesome

Not only were there TWO HUGE tables filled with amazing people whom I love, but my dear Auntie and Uncle were sitting there smiling back at me--all the way from Rancho. I was in SHOCK!

How awesome is that?!? I seriously felt (feel) so loved!

Since everyone teases me about my ridiculously awesome selfie-taking skills, I just HAD to go around the tables and take selfies with everyone. Check them out!

To say I was overwhelmed would be another understatement. Never in my life have I had this many people in one place to celebrate me. I am so incredibly grateful to each and every person that came, and I am even more grateful to God for placing such amazing people in my life.

Thanks, Mama, for a birthday to remember. I loved every bit of it!

This One's for You, Brother.

My brother turned 30 today. How did that happen? We were just little kids lying on the floor on our favorite blankets watching TGIF and eating cheese whiz. When did we grow up?

In honor of his 30th birthday, I'd like to share 30 of my favorite things about him (in no particular order):


He's quite talented. Here we are performing a skit on a family cruise. Scotty and our cousin Michael re-wrote "Barbara Ann" and turned it into a skit for our grandparents' 50th anniversary.

He's clever. Hot summers in Bakersfield caused us to be creative in our "activities"--such as frying eggs in the street.

He's fun to beat up on. I knocked out his first tooth--thankyouverymuch.

He's protective. I don't really have a "memory" of this, but apparently he'd crawl into my crib on occasion. Right here it looks like he's protecting me from something quite scary.

He's pretty darn cool. I've always thought so, even when I didn't want to admit it.

He loves Jesus (and ninjas apparently).

He's athletic. He loves lots of different kinds of sports, and he's good at many of them, but I'm impressed that he can ride a tricycle in rain boots.

He's strong. Look at those guns! (Here we are eating in my grandparents' living room--a rare occasion!) 

He always gets the best tans--he's a natural bronzer.

He's still a little kid at heart. It's rare that we can take a serious picture.

He loves tradition. Here we are reading the Christmas story out of the big, family Bible at my aunt and uncle's house.

He still loves to wrestle....or pick me up and throw me over his shoulder.

He can swim with dolphins, absolutely love it, and still be a man.

He's supportive. He'd always come watch my shows in high school.

He's inclusive. He'd always "let" me hang out with him and his friends in high school. I pretty much loved it. Here we all are at Six Flags.

He's so thoughtful and a great gift-giver. Here I am wearing a shirt from him that has Stephanie from Full House on the front. Classic.

He's fearless.

 He's funny. He can always make me laugh. I still look at this picture every morning (it's in a frame in my room) and chuckle.

He thinks he can play the piano. It's quite cute, actually.

He's very artistic--just look at that piece of art on a paper plate (and try to ignore the shorts).










He married the most awesome girl ever!

He's good at sharing (or at least letting me take his sunglasses).

He's an awesome skateboarder.

He's nostalgic. Here he is wearing a shirt that has a picture of the three of us on it from our Hawaii trip back in 1994.

He's fun to play games with (especially when I win!--which is rare).

He's super duper smart. Here he is graduating from Pepperdine.

He's great with kids (thanks in huge part to his awesome niece and nephew!).

He loves his family. Here we are with our grandma (dad's mom).

He's classy and well dressed. Let's be real, he dresses better than I do. 

He's pretty much the bestest brother ever. 

Happy Birthday, Brother! Love you.