Middle-aged

I turned the big 3-0 last Saturday!

Probably the best word to describe my birthday would be: confused. 

You see, John was planning a surprise party for me, and meanwhile I was informed he'd be on call at the hospital all weekend, so I started planning my own get-together.  We kept sending emails to (roughly) the same group of people, planning our separate parties, and our times, locations, and guest lists got all mixed up. Nobody had any idea what was going on!  John finally had to write a secret email to my friends, and told them to DISREGARD EVERYTHING I WAS SAYING, just smile and nod if I talked about my party, and only listen to him!  

It was the best surprise.  Here is the group that made the pilgrimage to the Wisconsin Dells, the water park Mecca of the earth.  It's 2 hours away.  It's expensive.  We had just had a big snow storm.  And these people put on their bathing suits in January, in icy 10-degree weather-- for me.  

I felt so loved!

(PS. Jenny even made this big trip as a single parent, since Richard had to work. Yep, she's an impressive woman!)

Here's Jess, Jon, and little Olivia playing in the kiddie area of the Kalahari water park.  We were so glad these guys made it for my celebration!  They're our long-lost friends who moved to Madison 2 years ago.  

Just for a little history, Jon and Jess introduced us to edamame, creamy havarti cheese (as a dessert, no less), and Bollywood.  We love them for it. 

Cole slid down the hippo slide approximately 4,305 times. 

There's Victoria, Benson, Marshall Coug, John, and Cole.  

Don't you think John would make an excellent kindergarten teacher?

The Lees are our key ingredient to any party.  Everyone loves them! They even brought over delicious, fresh eggrolls the next day to keep my birthday celebration going. 

Who knows who this guy is, but let me just explain about the SCARIEST WATER SLIDE on this planet!  It's called the Screaming Hyena.  You get in this glass tube, they close the door on you, and when you least expect it, the trap door is suddenly opened and you plunge 6 stories down.  

The attendant had a broken arm and several broken teeth.  And for some reason, we still did this ride.  It was the most thrilling 4 seconds of my life!

At 10:00 pm, we toweled off and got ready for the long drive home.  Here's a slap-happy Cole and Olivia playing in the arcade area while we waited for everyone to emerge from the locker room.  

What an awesome birthday surprise!  

And I'm told the 30s are the new teens, so I'm pretty excited.