As mentioned earlier, Jim turned 30! A few weeks ago I asked him what he wanted for his 30th birthday and he answered "Oh, just a surprise party." Now he probably wasn't aware that the whole purpose of a surprise party was in deed - to be surprised. However, I took his birthday wish as my command and planned a fun filled weekend to celebrate his birth.
First, 30 hours (get it?) before his birthday, the kids and I went to his office to kidnap him for his first 'surprise'. Of course he suspected a surprise party, because of his birthday wish, but what better way to throw him off the scent than to surprise him with NOT a surprise party.
Instead, we went to a family swim night and had a great time with the kids. Kacy sure is a little water baby!
After working up our appetites in the pool, we went out to eat at a place I knew we would get special, embarrassing treatment to celebrate the birthday boy. Turns out the big Mexican hat is cooler than you think - Bridger loved it!
Saturday (the day before his birthday), we made Jim a special 'surprise' breakfast and let him eat it in bed. He has the '2' and '9' candles decorating his breakfast because A) I forgot to use them last year 2) It was the last breakfast in his 20s and 3) His birthday fell on 'Fast Sunday' so we wouldn't be able to give him breakfast in bed on his actual birthday.
After breakfast, another surprise awaited him when we bundled up and went to Mt. Hood for some family tubing. Jim loves snow, skiing and being outdoors. It was a beautiful, sunny, cold day - perfect for winter fun.
We told Bridger he could go skiing with Daddy when he turns 3, and ever since then B has asked if it is his birthday so he and daddy can go skiing - which Jim is thrilled about. Jim is already planning out the spring ski trips with his new snow buddy.
Finally, the big day arrived and Jim turned the big 3-0! I had another 'surprise' waiting for him - a treasure hunt that involved Beatles Rock Band as his birthday present surprise. I had convinced him that we should not indulge in such a frivolous game, so was really excited to see that I got it for him, and we have all had a great time 'sharing' his gift. 
However, I had one final surprise up my sleeve. Remember, how he had asked for a surprise party? Well, our dear friends who live down the street were giving their new baby girl a blessing at church, so I told Jim we had been invited to a family get together with them and convinced Jim I was very torn and distraught that I could not single handedly make his favorite meal on his actual birthday.
We came home from church, intending to grab our contribution to our friend's gathering, when...
SURPRISE!!!
Jim was greeted by 60+ people who were neighbors, work friends, church buddies and running pals. He really was surprised!
We feel truly blessed to have some great friends that helped pull the surprise party off and show up in force to help us celebrate Jim's Birthday.
I am still tickled and patting myself on the back for the fact he was surprised (when he had asked for it) and that everything turned out so well. Rest assured he is not getting a single surprise for Christmas - I think I maxed out my sneakiness and deception for a while.
Happy 30th Birthday Jim! We love you!
We began the week making a "Thankful Turkey". Notice it is overflowing with feathers of all the things we are Thankful for. Everything from family, to Cars (as in Pixar), to our health, and to Jim's job. We have had a great year and I do feel particularly thankful for the many blessings in our life. (Bridger took the picture below. He is becoming pretty good as our resident toddler photographer.)
Thanksgiving morning we loaded the kids up and participated in Sherwood's Give & Gobble. I ran the 5k with the kids, and Jim ran the 10k. Jim did a 10k in Sacramento, CA last year and we both did the Fort Worth Turkey trot when we lived in Texas. We really enjoy this tradition of participating in a Thanksgiving race; we get to help a good cause and burn off some calories about to be consumed later in the day. 
Kacy's favorite thing to do lately is to climb stairs, pull herself upright, scoot along furniture, and empty out drawers.
She is such a cutie and she knows it!
She loves to snuggle up with you, but when she is ready to move - nothing can keep her still.
She is starting to discover all kinds of sounds she can make with her mouth and voice box: coos, shrieks, "ooh's", "uh-oh", and loves to 'sing' along with you (which really means making noises and smiling while you sing a song).
We love our little girl!
Bridger loved playing with Great Grandpa!
Mother's Cupboard was a favorite of the cousin's because of their BIG, yummy breakfasts. Here is Jim's 2 Blueberry pancakes he thought he could handle in one sitting. Turns out these pancakes can feed a family of four for 2 days straight. :) These were true "mancakes". 
For Halloween, Bridger and Kacy were Thing 1 and Thing 2. In true Thingyness fashion, they didn't want to sit very long for pictures.
Great Grandpa had ordered up thousands of leaves to jump in! We spent a whole morning raking up then jumping in HUGE piles of leaves. Ahhh.... the simple pleasures. 
This is Bridger and his "beautiful hair". I got these wigs at a garage sale for a dime each and Bridger is so fun, he doesn't mind sporting it when we want a chuckle. 
