The Big 3-0!

Yep, it's true. I am officially 30. Three decades of life - WOW! But, to be honest, it hasn't been as big of a deal as I anticipated. Turns out it's harder to be married to a 30 year old than to be one. I had a much harder time when Brad turned 30. I guess that's because I've had two years to get used to the idea, so it doesn't seem so bad.

I've had plenty of time to celebrate, too, and had a wonderful birthday!

In case you were wondering, this is what 30 looks like. (Apparently my mom sent my dad to the store to get some "30ish balloons" but he missed the "ish" part and came home with 30 balloons instead!) On Sunday (the day before the big day), my mom made my favorite dinner (Fiesta Chicken Kiev) and hosted a little family party for me - Randy & Cheryl, Britt & Mike, my parents, Brad, Libby, and me. It was an amazing meal and I got seriously spoiled! Ice cream cake and all!

I didn't have to be to work until 9:00am on my birthday, so I invited a bunch of friends to join me for breakfast at a new Pancake House on PCH. We had a great turn out and took over the joint. It was delicious and a fun start to a great day!

More of the breakfast crew.

After work Libby and I got to hang out for awhile until Brad made it home. She had a blast with all 30 of my balloons! ;)

Here we are before we ditched her with my parents to go out dinner on a real date - whoa...it must be a celebration! That doesn't happen often anymore!

We had a great dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, just the two of us. Then, after dinner we headed over to Yogurtland where some friends met up with us for a fun surprise! All in all, it was a great day. And, like they say, 30 is definitely the new 20! ;)

Biking to the Beach

I've been wanting to bike to the beach for a while now, and we finally did it! The ride to Doheny is a favorite, so my mom and I decided to do it while the boys were busy (Brad had to work and Dad was at a YM activity). Libby got her bike trailer from the Stewarts (man, they've really hooked us up, haven't they?!) and it's the convertible version...nice! Cruisin' in style! She wasn't totally sold on the whole experience on the way there because the sun was in her eyes, but on the way back she seemed to really enjoy it.

We ditched the bikes here while we lounged on the beach for an hour or so. It was the perfect day!
At the end of the ride, she fell asleep and looked so cute!
We played in the sand for a bit and she really loves watching the waves roll in.
Libby was such a good girl that my mom and I both got to close our eyes and rest while she just played and played. I figure we'd better take advantage of her immobility while we can! A few months from now and she'll be cruisin' all over the place.
After some time on the beach, Brad met up with us for lunch at Beach Cities Pizza (yum!) and then he switched with my mom and rode home with Libby and me. What a fun day!

Sunday Morning Discovery

Now that church doesn't start until 1:00, we have lots of time to just relax in the morning. Last Sunday we decided to break out a new toy from the garage - a hand-me-down jumping-toy from the Stewarts. Talk about a hit! Libby loved it! She was a jumping machine in that thing and was grinning from ear to ear the whole time! Thanks, Stewart family!

Ok, for those of you wondering why in the world she's in the bathroom...well, turns out our house doesn't exactly have a lot of official doorways. So, she started out in the bathroom but then we couldn't see her very well while we were eating breakfast, so we moved her to the closet. I don't know...is that a promotion or a demotion? Either way, she's made friends with the vaccuum and broom, so life is good! ;)

My first attempt at uploading a video...hope you enjoy!

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is a bit different once you have a kid, but still great. We had fun celebrating Libby's first Valentine's with her and we're so grateful to have even more love in our lives now that she's here with us!

Her very first Valentine card from Grandma and Grandpa (they were so on the ball it arrived 2 days early - nice!).
Libby and I had fun making Daddy his favorite meal for dinner and we were so excited when he got home. He got Libby some gorgeous white roses that she loved.

Libby's version of enjoying the flowers Daddy got for her.

Libby's white roses and my red roses from Daddy look gorgeous together. We're so lucky to have such a great husband/dad! Thanks for spoiling us, Brad! ;) We love you sooooo much!

More Pool-time with Daddy

Brad has been getting jealous of all the fun that Libby and I have been having without him, so last Saturday we decided to hit up the pool again. Brad had to work in the morning, but he met us at the pool when he got home and we had a great time. This girl sure loves her daddy! ;)

Libby's now sitting in her stroller the "big-girl" way and is loving it. She has a particular passion for the strap - who needs toys when you can suck on a seatbelt?!?
Doing some sun-bathing while we wait for Daddy to arrive.

Daddy's here - hooray!

Libby loved splashing and successfully soaked herself and whomever was holding her, too.

One happy little baby! (And a pretty darn happy Daddy, too.)

Cute, wet, and ready for more! ;)

Whirlwind of a Weekend

Ellie got baptized on Feb. 5th in Provo and asked my dad and me to give the talks, so we made the trek up to UT and back in a total of 50 hours. We left home at 7:30pm on Friday and drove through the night, arriving in Provo at 7:00am. We attempted to sleep for a few hours, then headed to the baptism at 10:30. It was a great baptism and we're so proud of Ellie for the great decision she's made to follow Jesus Christ's example. After the baptism we had an amazing luncheon that Amy put on (for about 50 people - she's incredible!) and then Brad and I ditched Libby and went skiing at Sundance with Porter, Zane, and Summer. It was a total blast and we are so grateful to my family for watching Libby for us so we could go. We finished off the night with dinner and games, then woke up and drove home. It was crazy! But, yet again, Libby was an angel. What a trooper she is! ;) Whew, what a weekend!

I forgot to bring my camera, so I had to steal this picture from my mom. The whole Foster gang, minus Jason.

Water Girl

The Friday of Finals Week was spent at the pool. It was a much more successful pool day than Libby's first time there when she was only 2 weeks old. At 4 1/2 months, she is now a water lover! She loved swimming!

Though her face isn't convincing, she really did have a great time!
She was all smiles swimming around, and even loved drinking the water, too! YUCK!

After the pool we showered off and she loved that, too. Her beach towel is so darling!

The week after Finals was still nice weather, so we headed down to Salt Creek after work one day to enjoy the sunset. It was a nice walk and Libby loved watching the waves roll in. The water was FREEZING but she handled it like a champ!

Hooray for strangers and cell-phones!

Yeah, that's one darling little girl! A water-baby all the way! ;)

Aaahhhh, how cute!