2, 4, and 30

March was a wild month of birthdays around here. On March 4, Anna Kate turned 2. Five days later, Trip turned 4. And 3 days after that, I hit the big 30!

Anna Kate's birthday was on a Monday, and our church family was having a BBQ the Sunday before. We decided that if we just brought cake to the BBQ and everyone sang happy birthday to her, she would think the entire gathering was for her sake. It worked like a charm! Trip talked all week about how we had a birthday party with all of our church friends for Anna Kate. I think he was even a little jealous, despite the fact that we actually threw him a birthday party at our house with a few of his little friends!

Anna Kate's face was priceless when about 100 people started singing to her. She was a little shy, but obviously so excited at the same time. Trip and her friends helped her blow her candles out, and she shared princess cupcakes with all of the little kids. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures because I was holding the cake!

Later that day we went as a family to Build-A-Bear, where Trip and Anna Kate picked a monkey and a penguin to adopt. It was quite the experience. There were soooooo many kids there, and everything was incredibly expensive. Not sure I'll be going back. But, for the sweet 2 year old, it was a good experience. Trip may have enjoyed it even more!

For Trip's birthday the following Sunday, we let him invite a few of his closest little buddies (and their families) over for a Spider-Man themed party. When he woke up the morning of his birthday, he walked out of his room to a gigantic Spider-Man balloon. It was literally the size of J! Trip was not so sure what to think at first. Once he realized it was a balloon and he could lift it up, he relaxed.

It ended up being rainy on his birthday, which ruined our plan of having the kids play outside. So, we improvised, pulled the suburban out of the garage, and set up Plasma cars, bikes, cars and the pinata out there. Trust me, the house was still FULL of crazy kids, but it was nice to have a place for them to get their energy out and (sort of) contain the mess.

For my birthday, my wonderful husband planned a ski vacation for just the two of us. My mom flew in from Missouri to take care of all three kids. J and I were in Park City from a Friday morning to a Monday afternoon. It was the perfect time away, and I was itching to get back to the little ones. We skied, ate lots of food, and enjoyed a spa day. We hadn't skied since we were dating, so we were happy to spend our time on the greens and even happier for the massages!

All in all, birthday success!