Jon's 30th Birthday

So as many of you know I was planning a surprise birthday party for Jon's 30th birthday...I failed! Jon found out about it the weekend before the party due to a few circumstances that I will not go into! Boo! Well it ended up being a great time anyway and we had a ton of people come. There were even several people from Jon's work that came, which we were excited about, although that is very unusual! Unfortunately, I completely forgot to take pictures at the party because I was running around trying to get everything ready. We had jambalaya, which is a first in a really long time...it is a rice dish and for some reason it has never cooked properly with the altitude. This time I tried something a little different and it worked! I was so happy because it is a lot of work to make, only to give up after cooking it an extra hour because the rice it still crunchy! So I am happy to say that it is back for the eating pleasure of our family and friends! I went with a cajun theme and had jambalaya, bread pudding, hurricanes, shrimp dip, etc. and of course some good ole' chocolate cake and ice cream! Although there's only one picture from the party (thank you Abby!), it's actually of me and Hannah. The rest of these are from the next day...I guess I had to compensate for not taking any at the party!

This is actually the Friday before Jon's birthday. We had to run to Kohl's for something and Jon insisted that we park in this spot. Me, the stickler for the rules, failed in convincing him that we would get towed if we parked there because it is for someone special! So we didn't get towed and Jon decided that if we did his argument would be, how was he supposed to know that it wasn't for him because he IS the superstar of the month...being his birthday month and all. So, we had to take a picture and as we did, the people parked next to us (also in superstar parking) encouraged Jon with the same sentiment...they felt like superstars, so why not?!?
Hannah was a little ticked off at me at this point. I had Marcela braid Hannah hair and it took too long, so she was ticked! This is her escaping to Grandma and Mariana!

Only picture from the party. Jon's cousin Abby took it...Hannah was passed out in my lap while holding one of the balloons. Every time she would fall into a deeper sleep, her hands would start to fall and the balloon would start to drift to the ceiling. She would instantly wake up crying, reach for the balloon, and then give Abby a dirty look. It was as though she was blaming Abby for losing her balloon. It was hilarious!

Hannah's first french braids...hopefully the first of many. To me there's nothing cuter than double french braids on a little girl!

Not quite as ticked off about the braids anymore...I guess seeking refuge with Grandma and Mariana worked, but she still would not let go of her balloon!

Hannah with her "Braid Creator," Auntie M (aka Marcela) Obviously she's not mad anymore...fortunately she gets over things pretty quickly.

Playing with Dad and Aunt Abby at lunch.

Me and Abby! I wasn't sure if Abby was going to be able to come or not. Once Jon found out about the party he mentioned that I should have invited Abby since she's just in Albuquerque. I told him that I did, but that I hadn't heard back. So, he was disappointed...then I got a call from Abby a few days later saying that she WAS planning to come, and then explaining why she wasn't able to commit until then. I was ecstatic! She said that she kind of wanted to keep it a surprise for Jon even though the party was no longer a surprise. We definitely got the reaction we were looking for when she came through the door! Jon was so excited to see her!

Hannah lovin' on her Aunt Abby...I guess she got over the balloon thing from the night before! Of course Abby plays with babies like Hannah's dad so it's not hard to love her!

Jon with his cousin Abby. She's like a sister to him, so I am so glad she was able to come. I think it made the whole weekend!