Travis turns the big 3-0!

Turning 30 is a pretty big deal. Am I right??

So I wanted to do something fun for Travis's big day, but being pregnant and not within close proximity of family to drop the kids off for the night, I was hitting dead ends. I finally decided that the best I could do under the circumstances was a good ol' fashioned {stay-cation}. A glorified day date, if you will. :)

So I found a babysitter for the entire day and scouted out some fun things for us to do in Durango. 

Maybe the 3 hour zip lining adventure package??

NO PREGNANT WOMEN was plastered all over their page.

OK, a hot air balloon ride.

Anyone want to pay $500-$700 dollars for a one hour balloon ride? Not I! 

After many hours researching online and calling a bazillion places. Yes, a bazillion. I was excited to finally have a plan! 

We set off at 8:45am for Colorado and about 10 min. away from the ranch, I finally told him what we were up to that morning. 

Horseback riding! 

Neither of us are necessarily big into horses. I don't think I've even been on one since I was 12. But I was happy when he seemed genuinely excited about it. I was lucky to even find a corral that was open in May. Every other place I called wasn't doing them until Memorial Day. 

It was just the two of us and our guide on our one hour ride. (Ha! That reminded me of the Gilligan's Island theme song.)

I was paired up with, Tom Dooley.... the horse that liked to stop and eat. I felt bad pulling up on his reins. I can commiserate with Tom, I enjoy a good snack too! 

Trav got Bear. The horse that liked to sniff my horse's behind. :)

As we started off across the field I started laughing and turned around to tell Travis that I felt like I was on an episode of the Bachelor. And I got the one on one date! Haha! 

 It was a casual ride through the mountains. Beautiful weather and scenery. When it was all done, I joked that he better not tell Ryan Carter about the life our guide had, or Ryan would be jealous. He was only a few years younger than us and managed the corral and had a cute little house on the land in the mountains. Ryan's dream. Trav laughed and said it kind of made HIM a little jealous! Apparently, George Strait's song, I Should've Been a Cowboy, was stuck in his head during our ride. That got me laughing! I had no idea there was a little {country} in my city boy. Awww! :)

After that we had about an hour to grab lunch. We drove downtown and parked on Main St. because I was finally going to get my crepes from the crepe stand that was closed last time we came. Well, guess the news?! He was closed again!!! Why I oughtta....! Gone camping with his family for the weekend, the sign said. Bah! 

So we walked up the street a ways and grabbed us some NY style pizza. 

 And Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory was just across the street so how could we resist sharing a little toffee and chocolate?! 

Next up was our white water rafting adventure! Now, I'm not totally daft. I knew I'd be 6 months pregnant when I booked all of this. So while it would have been fun to do some higher class rapids, I just paid for an 1 1/2 hour trip down the Lower Animas River that was said to be only Class II and Class III rapids. It's meant for families and even kids. We changed into our swimsuits, got fitted with water boots, life jackets and helmets and rode in the company's van to the entry point of the river. The biggest bummer was that I couldn't get any pictures! We couldn't take anything with us. :( There was only one other couple with us and our guide. Apparently this time of year the water is at it's highest level. It's also very chilly! He made it clear what to do if the raft flipped and I was wishing with everything I had that that never happened! Freezing cold water is NO BUENO! Thankfully, it never did. The splashes of cold water was enough to keep me awake! There was really only one section of the river with any rapids big enough to feel like you were doing what you see in movies. The rest was pretty tame. Which I have to admit, was fine by me! We pulled off to the side after a while to have lunch. I didn't remember reading about any lunch offered, so it kind of confused me. I had planned on going to a nice dinner in Durango when we were done. After we got back on the river, it felt like we had been gone quite a while. We left at 1:30pm so I asked the guide what time it was. Oh, just 4:30pm! I kind of stammered and said, "Oh, I just thought this was supposed to be 1 1/2 hrs??" He seemed equally confused and told us this was the half day excursion. At least that's what the computer told him. Well, I knew for a fact I had only paid for 1 1/2 hrs, but whataya going to do?! So at that point we were only barely past the half way mark. Oi vey! By now my back was starting to hurt and my feet were most definitely numb. And I had told the babysitter we would be home by 6pm. Now we weren't even going to be off the river until 6pm! Thankfully, when I called her, she was fine to be with the boys an extra hour. We picked up some yummy Chinese food in Aztec on the drive home and it was 7:30pm by the time we got back. That meant baths for the boys and off to bed with them! We ate our dinner in front of the TV, watching The Hobbit. Travis read the book and has been wanting to see it for a while now. I think it was kind of a present to him that I even watched it with him. And stayed awake! How people like all that Lord of the Rings stuff is beyond me! :)

It was such a fun day, though. I absolutely love just spending time with him. There's nothing else I'd rather do. I was in such a good mood, all day. He kind of has me wrapped around his aged finger. :)

The next day was his real birthday. He woke up at 6:30am and went to a meeting. Cuz I guess that's what you do when you turn 30! :/ It was fast Sunday, but I talked him out of that at least. I told him he could fast next Sunday. HF will understand. We usually have donuts on birthdays, but I got those yesterday for breakfast so they wouldn't be stale today. 

So we had French toast with strawberries and whipped cream and sausage and REAL orange juice. You know, the "fresh" kind in a bottle. Ya, we go all out over here. 

We had church at 9am, then he drove the boys around to pick up fast offerings afterward. When he walked in the door, one of the first things he said to me was, "I broke a chair at church." I was standing at the sink doing dishes, and turned to give him a quizzical look. "What do you mean, you broke a chair at church?" He went on to describe the scene. He was sitting in front of his class of deacons, teaching the lesson. Suddenly, one side of the chair busted and broke down. He started to fall lower, when the rest of the chair gave way and he suddenly found himself barrel rolling onto the floor, ending up flat on his back! I felt so bad, but I about died! I was doubled over the kitchen sink laughing hysterically. When I looked back up, he was flushed red with a suppressed smile himself, trying to look at me with indignation. After two months of exercising, he was rewarded by breaking a chair on his birthday! It's too sad not to be funny. Clearly, karma was just trying to keep him humble and make sure he never forgot what it felt like to turn 30. :)

He had decided steak would be a good birthday dinner. But, alas, if you're going to have steak, you should probably have a grill! So the poor man finally got himself a propane grill. I can't believe we've gone this long without one!

Here she is on her maiden voyage. :)

Now, anyone that knows me, knows I'm not a meat fan. All my life I've watched people eat meat with relish... and been completely puzzled why. My sisters love roast, steak and ribs. I'll take the chicken. Or even just the sides. Sides are a great meal to me. I even tried being a vegetarian once. 

But, I've slowly been evolving. 

I've finally taken to roast. As long as it's tender! I had my first steak last year when I was doing that cleanse diet... aka starvation diet. But I reasoned, when your own fingers are looking tasty, why wouldn't a steak be good?? 

Lately, I've started craving hamburgers. I've eaten 2 Whoppers this past month. I don't even know who I am anymore?! 

The one meat I've abstained from, however... bacon. Bleh! Vile stuff. 

So when I suggested steak to Travis as a birthday dinner, my inner voice was falling off its chair. I never, NEVER thought I'd willingly eat steak for a regular meal. I soaked it in a really good marinade first. Then I researched online how to cook an amazing steak. Trav did the actual grilling though. 

They were really big, NY strip steaks. I cut off half of one. As I ate, I realized I was actually enjoying it. By the time it was gone, I knew I'd be eating the other half. Sopping up the juices with my last bite, I felt like I had just eaten candy. Man, I have been missing out! I always felt so sorry for people that ordered steaks at restaurants. Everyone else's big plates of yummy food would come out, and they'd be presented with a piddly little steak with a couple of sides. It looked like such a sad state of affairs. Welp, my world has flipped,so who knows! Maybe in 10 more years, I'LL be the one ordering the piddly steak. :)  

I made him a chocolate cake with Reece's peanut butter cups and frosting, covered in chocolate ganache. And topped with 30 candles! I think this will be the last year we match the candles to the age. :) I was hoping the smoke alarms would go off. And he blew them all out in one breath!

I also put together a book of pictures that spanned from birth til now. His sister, Carrie, was nice enough to find pictures of him growing up and scan and email them to me. From there, I used Shutterfly to organize the pictures and put together a sort of digital scrapbook. Oh my. It took flippin' FOREVER! I had no idea how time consuming it would be! If I had a vice in the language arts, words would have been a flyin'! But when it was finally done and the book came, I was so excited about how it turned out. It was even better than I imagined, and totally worth the time. I had also contacted some of his family and friends and asked if they wouldn't mind writing him a birthday message to be included at the end of the book. I'm so grateful for those that took the time to do that. There were some really heartfelt and kind letters and they were the icing on the cake. Thank you everyone!

(Don't you love the balloon! Haha! It made me laugh out loud, and whenever something does that, I know I have to buy it. :)

Another idea I had, was to get 30 helium, latex balloons and have them in a huge bunch tied to the front porch for the day. Then at the end of the day, I wanted him to tell us and the boys 30 things about himself and with each characteristic or memory, we'd let a balloon go. Well, I had to buy them on Friday since we'd be gone all day Saturday and the store owner said they wouldn't stay inflated that long. Bummer! So instead I just blew up 30 little balloons and he basically did the same thing, but instead of letting them fly away, he popped them. I think the boys thought that was even more fun.

I certainly am grateful for my wonderful husband! I told him he should turn 30 more often, because I had so much fun celebrating with him! Now, I don't think I'll dread my birthday coming up. 30 doesn't look bad at all when you're turning old with your best friend!