Derek's 30!!!

Last Thursday was Derek's 30th birthday! He woke up to Peyton calling him an old man! I loved it because I was the instigator in that one of course! He seems to have taken it quite well. It did hit him pretty hard at first that he was no longer in his 20's, but he's adjusting ok. I remember what it felt like to be 18. It still feels like it was yesterday and I thought that people in there 20's were soo much older and more mature. They aren't...  at least not as much as I thought they were..:) I mean I have more life experience and more responsibilities now, but I still feel like I'm 18! Now I'm married to a 30 year old! Crazy! Anyways, back to Derek's birthday! Derek and I have been blessed by having family that gets along so well with each other. Derek's grandparents and mine were very close friends since way back when. Crazy that Derek and I didn't meet each other until I was about 20 years old. Our families have had a friendly tie together since before we were born. Derek and I were the ones to turn that tie into a family tie! Which to me is soo awesome! Having our kids makes it even cooler because our grandparents who have been friends for years share great grand kids now! I guess what I'm trying to explain in such a short few sentences is that whenever Derek and I have events that we invite both his family and mine to it seems like we're all just one family and I'm soo grateful for that...

Thursday night we went to Casa Lupe in Gridley with both our families and it was soo much fun! This is Derek and I with Jason(Derek's brother) and his girlfriend Amanda. They are soo much fun!

My aunt Brenda, my grandma Ramona and Derek's grandma Auda

My brother Brad, Uncle Brian, Aunt Brenda and cousin Rob

My brother-in-law David(Janeane's husband), Jax, and my sister Sarah

My dad and Jax

I'm sad this picture kinda turned out blurry because of the candle, but I love it so I wanted to include it too! It was a lot of fun visiting with everyone. Peyton is so used to seeing our family now that she gets very excited to hang out with all of them and she makes her rounds soaking up all the attention. Jax still gets pretty nervous at first and takes a little while to open up, but once he does he definitely is an entertainer!

Before going to casa lupe we decided to take the kids by Grandpa's shop. My dad let Peyton drive in a few mowers and she loved it! This picture means soo much to me. Having children definitely brings back many fond flashbacks from the past. I spent so much time with my dad at his shop growing up. My earliest memory of being at my dad's shop was when I was in Kindergarten and I would go to work with my dad until school started at noon. Back then his shop was right down the street from the school so he would watch me walk there every day. Now I have a daughter that is only 2 years younger than I was then.

After Casa Lupe that night some of us went to my parents for dessert. When we were getting ready to leave I was asking the kids if they were ready to go home and go to bed. Peyton started whining a "no".. My mom turned to my dad and asked him, "Doesn't it remind you of when the kids were little?" I thought that was kind of a trip because there I was at my dad's shop reliving my childhood through Peyton and then here was my mom reliving her early parenthood through me. One day hopefully I will be reliving my early Parenthood through my children. It kind of makes the phrase, "Carpe Diem"(seize the day) take on a whole new meaning to me. Or "living in the moment" also. One day I will be reminiscing on today wishing I could go back, if only for a second, to cuddle with my babies again. They are already growing so fast and this definitely makes every kiss(butterfly, Eskimo, or regular) soo much more special. I'm not going to take anything for granted because one day I will wake up and it will all be memories.

I'm so grateful for my husband. I'm hoping for a long life ahead with him. He is such a great dad who cares for our children so much and is always considering how everything we do would effect them. He does so much for our family and asks for so little in return. He is the love of my life and I'm excited to see what the next 30 years has in store for us! :)