One day older and wiser too... happy birthday to BENJ!

A new decade: 30.

Good thing Sara King has done a great job convincing us all that 30 is the new 20, otherwise I would think we are getting old. And, truth be told, we aren't the young BYU college couple we once were... we basically have two kids, go to bed early, wake up early and do grownup stuff (like work, church and family) in between.

Yep, like it or not, we are climbing our way into a different demographic and social circle. Gone are the 10 pm Wednesday night phone calls from another couple suggesting we go to the movies ~ a movie trip these days takes advance notice, planning and a baby sitter. Don't get me wrong, having a family is the best thing and really rewarding, but it does limit our ability to 'hang out' like we used to.

Back to birthdays... this is one point where Benj and I differ: I love when people know about and celebrate mine and he prefers to let the day pass quietly. But, I figured for the big 3-0 it was worth doing something special regardless. So, here's how Benj's surprise birthday celebration went down (he would have never allowed a party for himself otherwise):

Treasure hunt starting at work, to the Burlingame Cakery for the next clue, our old neighbors and then Ruth's Chris for dinner in the city.

The BIG surprise: Benj's Mom and Dad flew in to help us celebrate.


After the fantastic steak, we went home to the surprise brownie dessert bar that Debbie Grewal decadently prepared while we were away

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The pictures don't do it justice~ the display was really great: complete with little candy scoops for each of the toppings. Paul Conley won the trivia game: He knows his 1978 facts.
A big thank you to Debbie for watching Ella and taking care of all the home details.
Benj was really surprised, and the party was a success.

Don't worry, Ella stayed up WAY past her bedtime to help us celebrate.

The next day we went for a walk,

fixed stuff, opened presents,and had a KFC picnic on the Pacifica beach.

Fortunately, our church meetings were combined with the Spanish ward today, so Benj didn't have bishopric meetings until 11:15 am~ which meant we were able to have a Sunday morning family breakfast together, a real family treat. I went out on a limb and bought the lobster tails I've been eyeing at Costco for his Sunday birthday dinner- they were delicious (if you like lobster).