30th birthday, part two

Again, out of sequence…
My 30th birthday was, by a country mile, the best birthday I've ever had! First, I had the girls weekend at the Crescent, then we went to Little Rock on my birthday, and finally finished up the celebration in Key West. WOW! I am going to be seriously let down come 31 ;) I didn't actually have plans for my bday weekend because of the other celebrations planned. My sis-in-law called and said we needed to have a real bday party with a cake, etc. and since we had the weekend open, we decided to pack it up last minute and head to Little Rock.

My mother-in-law (Deb) and sis-in-law (Andrea) know how to throw a party, so I felt confident that the drive would be worthwhile. They completely blew me away! Deb and Darby got me 30 gifts which was madness. On top of that I received two of the most precious gifts I have ever been given. Deb created and Italy album for Andrea and I. I love it so much! Not only did I enjoy reliving the trip, but I love that it shares our story with everyone else. Deb did an amazing job of writing our story and including a lot of the history that we may have forgotten if it hadn't been documented. Thank you Deb!

My sis-in-law painted a one-of-a-kind painting for our home. It is beyond beautiful and special. The pictures just don’t do it justice. She was inspired by our Italy trip and used hidden symbols throughout the painting to represent memories, faith, etc. I was floored by her talent, effort and love. Thank you Andrea for the priceless gift!

Andrea, Brandon and their three boys came, so we had all 5 Darby kids together. We also got take Carson for his very first swim. He LOVES the water! I am so thrilled we have another waterbug.

The pictures tell the story much better than I can. But, thank you to the Darby family for spoiling me completely rotten! I don’t deserve you!

The whole Darby crew posed under the banner the boys made me. They call me Aunt Missy.

The MOST awesome cake ever! Why?! Because Andrea and Deb made a brownie cake that was Carson friendly. I was actually able to eat it. I about made myself sick on this ridiculous goodness.

Let the gluttony begin.

Posing with all 30 gifts. SO FUN!! I was actually shy and overwhelmed by all of this. I am serious. I didn't know what to do :)

Kissing my hubby for his super romantic card he gave me. So precious. Ok, I am lying. He sent my 4 year old nephew out on a shopping trip to get my card last minute. It was a picture of an old man making a joke about getting old. Nice.

Here is the Italy book. Deb rocks! She put countless hours into this masterpiece.

Drumroll....here is the AMAZING painting Andrea created. Here she is explaining that the nine blue circles (created by using real euro) represent the nine days spent in Italy. SO clever!

Mel posing with the actual artist :) The painting is titled "Dolci Recordi" -- "Sweet Memories"

Another exciting gift...Deb gave us tickets for the American Idol tour in July. It will be fun to see Kris Allen perform in his hometown.

Swimtime! Here are all 5 Darby cousins. Alex was devastated she had to use floaties. She swims completely on her own now, but at the time we were in the middle of swim lessons.

Uncle N8 got quite a workout heaving the kids across the pool. We did some fun stunts too but I won't be sharing those pictures!

Pops loving on his boy

Carson did so well in the water-- it was fun watching everyone take a turn with him
Father and son bonding time

Mommy is having a blast!

Alex and Daddy are having fun stunting in the pool. She is so brave!

Our family of four. All smiles!

Mommy gets a turn with waterbug.

Pops and DeDe with all the grandkids.DeDe and Carson had such fun together.

Aunt Onnie adores Carson. They are so precious together.Our Alex putting on some sort of performance

Carson got lots and lots of love. Did he ever play on his own? I don't think so.

Carson sums it up....AWESOME TIME!