Tuesday, May 22, 2012

An Unforgettable 30th Birthday Par-tay!

This year, my bestie--Ang--and I turned the big 3-0!  After attending our friend Jessica's awesome house party, we decided that we absolutely must have a house party complete with ping pong/beer pong, flip cup, karaoke, and of course, dancing to celebrate our 30th!
Ang and I decided on the date (her actual b-day), the decorations (30 balloons, each one carrying a picture of the two of us from the past/present), and the cocktail (Madras--vodka, cranberry juice, and orange juice). Aside from that, the hubbies handled the rest.  They set up lights, the music, the keg, and lots of other alcohol for our friends to consume!  To say that Ang and I had a blast is a huge understatement!  Thanks so much, Josh and Mike, for making our par-tay unforgettable, and thanks to all our friends who came out to celebrate this milestone with us!


The Birthday Girls



Jamie and I.  Thanks so much, Jamie, for coming to the party!


Ang, Brooke, and I.


Our Stroller Strides' instructors (minus Jess, who came later).


Stroller Strides mamas and friends


Kim and Stef.  Thanks so much, Stef, for being a sport and coming to a house party when you are pregnant.  You and Kristy rock!


Josh and Matt playing beer pong.


The Three Amigos--I love these girls!  Thanks so much, Jo, for coming to the party.  Since we attended many of our high school house parties together, it really wouldn't have been the same without you!


My hubby.  Thanks so much, Honey, for making another birthday very special!  I love you.


My Flip Cup team--Brandon, Jo, Me, Lisa, Brooke, & Grant.


The two Bs--Brandon & Brooke--the best flip cup partners ever!


Having a great time with my girls!

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Whale Watching

My dad is originally from Nebraska and most of his family still lives there, so we don't get to see them very often.  Therefore, it was a real treat spending time with my aunt, great aunt, and cousins when they recently came to town to visit us!  My mom had an entire itinerary of things to do to keep everyone happy and occupied with fun stuff to do.  One such scheduled activity was whale watching.  I haven't been whale watching since I was in elementary school, so I decided that it would be a fun adventure for Lo and I (Daddy had to work) to join the family fun.  The tour was out of Newport and lasted 2.5 hours!  Unfortunately, we did not see any whales, but we did see some sea lions and dolphins!  I was worried Logan might get sick or bored, but he had a blast on the boat.  Thank goodness for Poppa being there!


Logan anxiously waiting to board the boat.


Dad, Mom, Sis, Logan, and I.


Poppa and LoJo


Logan adores his Poppa!  It's the sweetest thing because even though Logan doesn't get to see Poppa that often (my dad is currently working up north), Logan just loves to play and snuggle with his Poppa.


Mommy, LoJo, and Poppa hangin' out on the boat.

My Birthday Weekend

My 30th birthday weekend was very relaxing and enjoyable.  We spent Friday night with our besties, the Bridgfords!  There was lots of wine and laughs!  

Saturday morning, Josh and I headed to Newport to celebrate our friend Kristy's birthday.  Kristy and Jared rented a boat so our group of friends could cruise around the Newport harbor.  It was tons of fun!  Thanks to Auntie Ang and Uncle Mike for watching Logan so we could enjoy a very fun day with our friends.  That evening, Josh, Logan, my parents, sister, and I all headed to one of my favorite hidden Italian restaurants--La Bettola!  Dinner was delicious and the company even better.

Sunday started off with church and then a lovely lunch on the patio at Cheesecake Factory.  It was so nice spending some quality time with my hubby and lil' man!  We had a delicious lunch, and afterwards, Josh took Logan home so Mommy could enjoy some shopping time!  Thanks, honey, you're the best!

My actual birthday fell on a Monday this year, and it was raining!  Lo and I met up with the Bridgford girls and went to Stefano's for lunch.  After lunch, we went back to the Bridgfords' home to find delicious cupcakes that Susan (Mike's mom) had gotten for me in celebration of my birthday.  Thank you so much, Susan!  You are such a doll!  

Since I had to wake up early Tuesday morning (5am) to workout, Josh and I decided to have our birthday date on Tuesday evening.  I've been raving to Josh about this amazing restaurant called Seasons 52, so we decided to go there for my birthday.  Seasons 52 has a seasonally-inspired menu that changes every season to serve only the freshest ingredients.  The food is so amazing, and the best part is that every dish is 475 calories or less!  Thank you so much Uncle Matt and Auntie Kim for watching Lo so we could have a special date night!

Thank you so much everyone for the wonderful birthday wishes, and for making my birthday so very special!  I'm so looking forward to my big birthday bash this upcoming weekend with my bestie, Ang! (More pictures to come)


Dinner at La Bettola with the fam.



Our special birthday lunch celebration


Thanks again, Bridgford girls, for making my day super special!



The yummy cupcakes Susan got me!


Enjoying our birthday date night!

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Vegas 30th Birthday Celebration!

It seems like we've been planning our Vegas trip for years now!  The six of us (Bridgfords, Murtys, & Penarandas) have never all been to Vegas together.  Some of us have been at different times, and the last time the majority of us were there together was when we were 21.  Therefore, since it was long overdo, the six of us had never all been together, and because Ang and I wanted to do something extra fun and crazy for our 30th birthdays, we all headed to Vegas this past weekend!  

Mike volunteered to drive, so on Friday we packed up our bags, said good-bye to the kiddos, and hit the road (Joelle and Aram couldn't leave early on Friday, so they flew out to join us later in the evening)!  

Ang always comes up with the cutest ideas, so she decided to make each of us a "hangover kit", supplied with Advil, Tums, tissue paper, a cute mirror, and water.  She also made a very cute "Happy Birthday" banner that we hung in the car and later in our hotel room.  Thanks, girl, for making our trip extra special! 

The drive to Vegas wasn't too bad, but we did hit a storm which made us very worried about the weather in Vegas.  We had been checking the weather all week, and the forecast called for light showers on Friday and thunderstorms on Saturday.  We were so bummed but very hopeful that things would change.  Before getting to Vegas, we stopped for lunch and some shopping at the outlets.


On the road to Vegas!


Our first cocktail!  We stayed at the Rio, and they have a frozen yogurt station that also sells mixed slushy cocktails.  They were dangerously delicious!


Once we checked in, it didn't take the guys long to head out to the tables to gamble.  Ang and I, on the other hand, had different plans.  We're not big gamblers, so we decided to indulge in one of our favorite treats--wine and cheese.  Here we are at La Cave Wine Bar at Tryst.  We ordered a flight of Worldwide Red Wines and some delicious cheese samplings.


On our way to dinner and drinking in the taxi--only in Vegas!


For dinner, we ate at the Social House--a very yummy Sushi restaurant!  The food was absolutely delicious!



After dinner, we headed to Club Rain at the Palms where Joelle and Aram met up with us.  Ang's sister--Andrea--had a connection with a club promoter, so all six of us were able to get in free at Club Rain.  The music was pumpin' and the drinks were flowin' so everyone had a great time!


Our guys


The girls


The Hubby and me.  I'm such a lucky girl!


After a late night on Friday, the only thing I wanted to do was sit poolside on Saturday, but the weather called for thunderstorms.  On Friday we noticed that there were jacuzzis by the pool and we were bound and determined to use them--no matter what the weather was like.  To our surprise, when we woke up on Saturday, there were no thunderstorms and the pool was open!  We were so excited!




Hangin' out in the jacuzzi.  First we got Starbucks because we were worried at how cold it was going to be, but once we got out there, it was great!  We sat in the jacuzzi with Starbucks and later some yummy slushy cocktails!  I don't get to hang out very often with my two best friends, so this time together was very special and fun.  Love you girls.


Before dinner, the six of us got together to have some cocktails in the room and take a picture under the "Happy Birthday" banner.

On Saturday night, we went to Caesar's Palace and had an Italian dinner at Il Mulino.  Ang did the research and found out it was an amazing Italian restaurant in New York.  I can't even begin to describe how delicious the food was!  As soon as you are seated at the table, 4-5 different servers greet you with complimentary appetizers.  They brought a block of Parmesan cheese to the table and carved us each a piece, along with serving us brushetta, marinated zucchini, and three different types of bread. I  couldn't believe that all of this was free, and that we were then supposed to order a meal afterwards!  

Since Aram was doing very well at the gambling tables and because we were celebrating Ang and my 30th birthdays, Joelle and Aram offered to buy us all dinner!  Thanks so much, Jo and Aram, you two are so generous and kind.  We all ate amazing food, had delicious wine and drinks, and fun conversation.  It was a great dinner!


The Murtys


The Penarandas--thanks again, guys.


The Bridgfords


Everyone's food was delicious, but I ordered Porcini Mushroom Ravioli with a Champagne Black Truffle Sauce--mouth-watering!


Since we were having such a great time, we decided to indulge in the Italian culture and order some Limoncello.


We were having such a great time with our waiter that he then served us complimentary Grappa.



After dinner, we had a show to catch.  We headed to the Monte Carlo to watch the Jabbawockeez (dance crew) perform.  It was a great show with talented hip-hop dancers and fun music!  Once the show was over, we headed next door to the Minus5 Ice Bar. Everything inside Minus5 is made of ice; the walls, the bar, the sculptures, the seats, and even the glasses that they serve the drinks in!


Having a shot and toasting to good times!

After Minus5, we decided to head to the Brand Lounge in the same hotel.  We were all given wristbands and told that the guys could get in for free and pay for their drinks, and the ladies would pay $20 to enter and receive unlimited drinks all night long.  It sounded like a great deal to us, so we went for it!  We had a great time dancing and sipping Madras!


The Birthday Girls



Thanks so much everyone for coming to Vegas to celebrate my birthday with Ang.  We love you all so much and had the best time with you all!   A special thanks to Alexa, Susan, my Mom, and sister for taking care of Logan while we were gone so that we could enjoy some "grown-up" time together.