My 35th Birthday!!!

Well it came and went... the BIG 3-5!! I don't feel an ounce different or older. Still me, still the same. Strange to think that I'm rounding the hill now towards 40 though! It was a wonderful day and I was very spoiled by my family!! Here's the recap:

When I woke up I went downstairs (I was the first one down), and to my great surprise I found the family room decked out with flowers, balloons and streamers! WONDERFUL, SWEET Toomas had surprised me and got up in the middle of the night to decorate!!!! It was SUCH a big surprise! The boquet of flowers was magnificant! The HUGE 3 -5 on the windows was such a neat idea too!

Since it was Wednesday there was no school, but Krista had a trip to go on with her fellow altar girls and boys. They went for an ALL day excursion to a huge amusement park in Germany (called Europapark). It was a thank you gift from the Church for their service during the year. So I spent the morning with just Kaitlyn and Erik after Toomas went to work.

Erik and I started the day by cleaning and organizing the house. Erik was a big help, even doing the vacuum while I cleaned the kitchen! At noon Toomas came home for the day. He took a 1/2 day vacation so I could have a FREE afternoon! It was wonderful gift to me! He said I could do WHATEVER I wanted with my afternoon. When he came home we chatted a bit and then I put Kaitlyn down for her nap. I decided that it would be fun to go to Ikea for the afternoon by myself. It is easy to spend 2-3 hours there and always a nice way to pass the time (in air conditioning to boot)! It was in the high 90's here yesterday (35 C) so it was wonderful to spend the afternoon strolling leisurely around IKEA, with noone asking to go home! :)

For dinner we decided that instead of going out to dinner, we'd just order pizza. It can be a battle with Kaitlyn at a restaurant and I wasn't up for it. She really doesn't sit still for very long and food is NOT a source of pleasure for her, so she can not be "bribed" by food like many kids are in resturants (so that they will sit the 2 hours necessary to complete the meal). We decided it would just be fun to have dinner on the terrace chez nous!

After dinner I was SPOILED by gifts and cake! Toomas got me my FAVORITE "Foret Noire" cake that I love so much. It is a chocolate and cherry delight! He also got me blueberry pie, which I'll have to savor tonight!

Erik was the official photographer for the gift opening ceremony...Toomas' Mom sent me my FAVORITE chocolates--a huge box of various delicious Estonian pralines! Yummy!!! Next up were the lovely cards---Krista and Erik's handmade cards, vanaema's and one from Mom!! Those are always my favorite gifts! Toomas gave me a BEAUTIFUL silver necklace and earing set (my favorite brand 'Altesse'), a music cd and a book! I was very spoiled indeed! I also received phonecalls from Vanaema and Onu Jaan who called from Estonia to wish me a Happy Birthday! I enjoyed so much all of my emails and e-cards (Mom, Mike, Carrie) THANKS!!!

All in all, it was just a wonderful 35th Birthday!!! I am so thankful for the special blessings I have received in my 35 years of life. And a very SPECIAL thanks to my dearest husband for making my day(s) so wonderful!!! XO