30!

Last month I had the chance to celebrate 30 years of life on this earth. I wasn't sure how fun it would be after an amazing birthday in Italy last year, with opera singers serenading me ( ; But, this year I got to spend it with my favorite people and that made it perfect! I started off the weekend with a trip to the spa (thanks to the generosity of friends at my baby shower). What fun to enjoy some solo pampering. We finished up that evening with a trip to Borders to find some cheap gifts for later. The next day we went up to Baltimore, one of our favorite places. The aquarium was celebrating their 30th year as well, so we enjoyed the little extras that were available like paper crowns and a tent with a rhythm band. We vowed to enjoy our last trip before our membership expired, and it was just lovely. Besides an injury that could have been much worse, our time at the aquarium was perfect. Lori managed to get her foot caught under a revolving door as we were walking through an exhibit, and we were worried for a few minutes, but the aquarium staff proved themselves helpful and kind, and it turned out to be just fine. I'm so glad children are flexible and quick to recover! We enjoyed lots of "free" food throughout the day. Of course, when taking the whole family along, the restaurants still receive plenty of cash from us. We stopped at Einsteins for the drive up (free bagel sandwich!) and hit up Noodles and Co. for lunch (free noodles!). After all of this we were tuckered out, but decided to try to make it to Vacarro's for a free Italian dessert. We were disappointed to see that they forgot to include some important fine print, like the fact that it was dine-in only, and buy one, get one. I was going to leave empty handed, but John somehow managed to get a sweet parking spot and proclaimed that you only turn 30 once, so we should stay end enjoy some sweet treats together. Yum! It was deliciously reminiscent of the gelato and pastries I partook of last year. What a day. We made our way home a tired and happy bunch. Lovely memories were the best gift I could have!