Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me....I'm a big birthday person. I love birthdays. There is something magical about birthdays. This year was a big one for me. I turned the big 3-0!! My parents flew out the day before my birthday and I had such a great time with them. It's a Sarah tradition to blow up a lot of balloons and decorate the night before someone's birthday. In this case Ryan and my parents did a lot of the decorating on my birthday eve. That's a big part of birthdays.

The photo above of the chalk board was from my birthday party the week before. Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos. How I missed that I have no idea and am so sad, but I had a great time. My lovely friends Elizabeth, Julia and Emilee planned this sweet party at Elizabeth's house for a perfect group of girls. It was casual and intimate and so much fun. There was lots of delicious food and treats. We made our own lip balm and gave ourselves pedicures and manicures. Of course a party isn't a party without trivia and gifts. The ladies were all so loving and kind. One of my favorite things from this party was a jar that had "30 reasons why we love Sarah" in them. There are some really special things written in there. Julia gave me 30 gifts for my 30th birthday. I am so lucky to have such sweet and genuine friends here. There are a few that I truly miss and wish were local to celebrate with me, but I definitely felt loved that night.

On Wednesday May 14, it was business as usual and we took Andrew to school then went straight over to gymnastics for Bailey. She did great and everything was just better because it was my birthday. We met Ryan at Yucatan Taco Stand (my favorite) for lunch and we had my favorite pork nachos. Yum! Then we went back to Children of the Woodlands to pick up Andrew from school.

We usually head home and get ready for piano lessons, but Andrew played hookie and we went to look at Mustangs!!! I think it's a Gehringer thing, but I was looking forward to this for a long time. I've never driven a Mustang and I thought, what better day than on my 30th birthday. I had to pick blue (go BYU!) and of course it was the only stick shift. What the heck. Let's do it. It's my birthday. That's my motto.

Woohoo!

Aint she a beauty?! Oh, and the car is nice too.

The kids got to sit in a Mustang! They were a lot happier than this photo shows. Andrew will count how many Mustangs he sees while we are driving. "Mustang! Red!" He's got some of the Gehringer blood in him. He was just as excited to go see Mustangs as I was. He picked the blue one too.

So what should I do with this 2014, 6 speed Mustang GT?

The Ford employee warned me that first gear was a little tricky. I did kill it in the parking lot once. I quickly got the hang of it though. My dad was in the back seat and said I did pretty well. I was told to "let her go" at one point and made it into 5th gear. I loved hearing her roar and seeing what she can do when let loose.

I had to enter a code to get back in. When we left the lot, the Ford employee was driving and totally hit the curb going around the corner over here. I even warned him. He bet me I couldn't do the same corner without hitting the curb. What do you think? Even though it has been years since I drove a stick shift I made the turn perfectly and backed it up perfectly parallel to the other cars. Ya, this Mustang loved me.

Oh my, I love that car.

Pretty from all angles. (I'm driving in this photo.)

Why let the fun end there? It's my birthday! So we drove to the Audi dealership where I met this beautiful lady. I've always liked Audis.

Now what do you think I did with this beautiful 2014 dual clutch TTis?

I took her for a spin. This car was fun to drive and was so different from the Mustang. It was quiet and purred where the Mustang roared. The TT hugged the street and curves better and the paddle shifters were a new fun thing to try. The guy I was driving with told me to hit my foot to floor. Phew that baby can fly! It was so fun to be able to go so fast!

We made a couple stops on the way home and Mom and Dad made steak and potatoes and yumminess for dinner. We usually go out for dinner on my birthday, but I think the last time I had a home cooked dinner for my birthday was when I was 18. That's better than any restaurant any day!

Ryan's parents sent me this lovely flower arrangement!

Ryan brought home my favorite desserts from The Cheesecake Factory. I'm not a big cheesecake fan, so I go for the Chocolate Tower Truffle cake that has layers and layers of fudge cake with chocolate truffle cream and chocolate mousse and served with fresh whipped cream. It definitely satisfies your chocolate craving. I like chocolate, but I am more of a fruit person, so to satisfy my fruit craving I get the Lemoncello Cream Torte which is layers of vanilla cake and lemon mascarpone cream topped with streusel and served with strawberries and fresh whipped cream. That's sweet and light and tasty and the Chocolate cake is rich and thick and moist. So every taste bud is happy.

Sarah's 30th Birthday Video Link

After dinner we took some silly photos.

My mommy makes me happy.

Andrew played Happy Birthday on the piano for me.

Andrew plays Happy Birthday

Present time!

This green May 14 sign has been around for a long time. One year (maybe 1995) my birthday fell on Mother's Day and a store (I think K-Mart) had a bunch of these signs hanging from the ceiling. I really wanted them so we asked them if we could have one after Mother's Day. It's so silly, but I love birthdays and it was special. My parents asked if I still had it and sure enough, the sign lives!

As a fun little fact, my birthday has landed on Mother's day 4 years, 1989, 1995, 2000, and 2006 and the next time will be 2017.

When we were at the Ford dealership, my dad got a booklet on Mustangs. Andrew and my dad read the book all the way home from the dealership and this was the book Andrew chose to read before bed. That makes me so happy. Grandpa and grandson bonding over Mustangs. Gehringer blood.

As I tucked Andrew in we wanted to take a few more silly photos.

Love.

I got marked on the family growth chart! Let's see if I grow or shrink in the next year!

This was really a very wonderful birthday. I felt so special and so loved by so many people. Thank you to everyone who made me feel like one in a million. So far 30 is pretty awesome.

The End :)

I am so very blessed to be the mother to these beautiful children. I thank my Heavenly Father each day for the joy and love that they have brought into my life. They each filled a portion of my heart that I didn't know existed until they were born. They drive me crazy some days, but I wouldn't change it for anything. The moments when they tell me they love me for no reason makes any difficulty worth it. Andrew made the necklace I'm wearing as a Mother's Day gift. Both kids made me feel incredibly special that day. My first couple Mother's Days I thought it was my "day off", as if that existed for a mother. I thought they should tell me how awesome and wonderful I am and feed me breakfast in bed. In my wise old age, I've realized that Mother's Day is just as much for them as for me. I really thought about my life and how blessed I am to have them, and not how lucky they are to have me. It is a day for me to show them how much I appreciate them coming to our family and allowing me to be their mother. It's a day to remind me of my most important purpose right now in my life.