My Fabulous 30th Birthday!!

Well, I must give a warm thanks to my family and friends who made my 30th birthday special. I love and appreciate all of you!

Tyler took me to get a massage on Saturday morning, and it was fabulous! Then, he planned a surprise dinner for me at my favorite restaurant (Coyotes) with all our couple friends. It was GREAT! He also made sure I had my favorite dessert....cheesecake from the cheesecake factory! Thanks honey for all your hard work to help make me feel special. I am NOT usually one to make a BIG deal about my birthday, but for some reason I needed a little extra TLC this year!! :) It doesn't help when your husband is younger than you either...only by 2 months, but still!!

Yay, Viva La Vida CD from Coldplay!! Don't mind the Christmas wrap he used to wrap all my presents in...lol!
He also bought 4 shirts for me!
Coyotes!! Isn't my hat lovely?!! All in attendance: Maury and Neisha, Laurie and Adam, Nicki and Zach, Matt and Michelle, and Cory and Sarah!! You guys are awesome...thanks for helping to make me feel special on my b-day!

Sunday, we headed over to my in-laws for my B-day dinner! My mother in-law made her awesome homemade spaghetti for me, and homemade brownies. It was so yummy...thanks Sue!

Madison was in charge of the bows while I was opening my presents.

A new sweater from my in-laws! Not pictured: a new skirt and 3 new shirts/blouses, Wicked CD, Enchanted (the movie), Bare Essentials (make-up), a new bracelet, Body Shop yummy lotion and stuff, and some mini molly shade type shirts. I am spoiled!!

My in laws also get us our favorite candy on our b-days. Mauna Loa chocolates, and some sour punch straws...yum!!

This is me ever so gently blowing out my candles! Tyler thinks it is gross when people blow out candles because he says they often end up spitting on the cake. I did NOT spit on the brownies Tyler...I was so careful!! :)

Brook and Sue enjoying a brownie!

Chad and Madison hanging out together. Madison loves Chad...he's a great cousin to her!!

Papa and Madison! Daddy just lovin' on his little girl!!

3 decades of life!

Well, tomorrow marks 30 years of life for me! I don't know why it has been so difficult to accept, but it has. I guess I just need to adopt the philosophy that age is just a number. But I gotta be honest, those fine lines around my eyes aren't helping my age issue...AT ALL!! :)

CARIBBEAN CRUISE!

Last week we went on a cruise through the Caribbean with our friends Zach and Andrea. We dropped Madison off with Grandma and Grandpa for a week in SD, and Andrea and Zach dropped their little girl off in Florida with Zach's parents. We left out of Port Canaveral in Florida and headed to Nassau, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten/St. Martin on Carnival cruise lines.
This was our ship, the Carnival Glory.

First stop, Nassau.

Zach and Tyler in front of the fish tank at Atlantis resort in Nassau.

This Sting ray was huge, and moved incredibly fast!

This is his face...crazy huh?!!

You had to pay to get into Atlantis, so we searched for a good long while to find the FREE beach near the resort (which was totally hidden). Apparently they think it is funny to frustrate people into paying to get into Atlantis, but we were not suckered into their trap...we persevered!! :)

We snuck around the back side of Atlantis and got some good pics inside. We thought it was OK to be in there, until we were asked for our room key. Sheepishly we walked out!!

Zach was NOT satisfied, so he proceeded to find another way in. As we sat and watched and laughed at Zach sneaking under the bridge, Tyler asked a local how we could get in. He told us that they switch posts every 30 minutes, and just to wait 15 minutes for the her to leave. We took his advice and walked in 15 minutes later! Tyler and Zach played at the amazing water park for a minute until they learned they needed a wrist band...ha! It was fun while it lasted!!

This is Zach sneaking in under the bridge! He had to hide in the bushes to avoid to getting caught by security. It was hilarious!

We played NERTZ (a speedy card game) almost every night on the ship! Tyler and I were thrilled that Andrea and Zach liked it so much, because it is one of our favorite games to play.

Formal night. Some wore evening dresses and suits, and I wore a church dress. Some people take the dressing up thing very seriously....ME, not so much! :)

Second stop...St. Thomas! This is a picture on our way to Meaghan's Bay.

Andrea striking a pose on the beach in St. Thomas. She is 22 weeks pregnant with a girl! I know you can't tell she is preggers, it's because she is so freakin' skinny!

Me on the beach in St. ThomasJust a pretty pic of St. Thomas.

Third stop...St. Maarten! This was our favorite island. We rented 4 wheelers, and rode around the whole island. The 4 wheelers are street legal there.

Sorry, this pic is out of order. This was taken in St. Thomas. We were there on inauguration day, and everyone was crazy for "their" president, as the locals would say when asked. All the locals were wearing Obama shirts and hats. Tyler said to one girl, "hey, are you a Barack fan?" Her response, "he's my president!" He replied bluntly, "I can't stand him." The look on her face was PRICELESS!! St. Thomas is part of the US Virgin Islands.

This is just one example of St.Thomas showing their LOVE for Obama!

St. Maarten is divided into a Dutch and French side. The french side had nude beaches, and the boobs were out in full swing! No worries though, no GOOD boobs, so I wasn't nervous about Tyler seeing anything he shouldn't. I saw a mom feeding her daughter yogurt while topless...now there's something you don't see everyday!!

Don't I look HOT in my helmet...Ha!

I warned Tyler not to push his head back too far, but he didn't listen, so I feel justified in posting this pic displaying his double chin!! It's a good thing he really doesn't ever look at our blog, or he might take issue with this pic...J/K!! :)

We were headed around the west side of the island just as the sun was setting...it was gorgeous!

Isn't this island beautiful!

This is us at dinner. We had late dinner, and we usually closed out the restaurant every night...our waiter LOVED us...lol
We had a blast on our Caribbean cruise, and we can't wait for the next one! I think we will be life long cruisers! This was the fourth cruise for both of us. Zach and Andrea have us beat though. This was Zach's 6th cruise and Andrea's 5th, so we have some catching up to do!! :) Zach and Andrea were great cruising buddies!!

Hairmixer.com

This is me before hairmixer...
and this is me after!

Just for fun, I went to http://www.hairmixer.com/. This is Rebecca Gayheart's hair on me! The necks a little long, but you get the idea.

Pooped!

I found Madison crashed out on the floor this afternoon in this cute position. She was drooling into her hand that cupped her chubby little cheek! I love that her hand is up through the top of her shirt! My sister and her family stopped to stay the night on their way home to San Diego, so Madison had a late night and an early morning playing with her cousins. All that play makes a girl tired!!

Aaron Lewis concert

Last Friday, we went to see Aaron Lewis (lead singer for the band, Staind) perform a solo acoustic concert here in Vegas. It was a very small, intimate setting, and we were center stage on the 4th row! Wow, he is an extremely talented musician! Tyler is a BIG fan of Staind, and I always liked them, but now I am a BIG fan as well!!

No photography was permitted, but I had to sneak one in! Not the greatest picture, but good enough!

Tyler and I at the concert!

Christmas in Vegas and San Diego

Early Christmas in Vegas, before we left for Provo!

Tyler showing off his new jacket!

Nicole's new jacket!

Madison all dressed up in her princess clothes.

Chad and Madison!

New clothes from Grandma Sue and Grandpa Richard!

Poor thing got sick after our return home from Provo, and crashed in the chair after throwing up!

We headed to San Diego on the 24th of December!

Stocking time!

Ok, Tyler thought it would be a funny gag gift to give me sham-wow! Totally NOT amused!!

I got this cute ballet leotard in New York for $2.00...I know, it was quite the bargain!! It was marked down to $12, and I had a $10 off coupon...I know, I Know... :)

The LaLanne/Hansen crew, well at least some of them!

Family picture! I'm convinced that we will get 1 where all of us are smiling...ugh!

My sister in-law Amber, and her little girls Gabby and Brooke!

Grandma Marlene and Madison on Christmas day!

Corvette diner on our way out of San Diego. It is such a cute little place near Hillcrest.

Madison and I flew home a few days after Tyler left.

Grandma and Madison having fun at the diner!

This is us killing time before our flight left. Too bad the fog rolled in, because our flight was cancelled, and we had to fly out on New Years Eve morning!!