Happy V-Day and B-Day...

It's Valentine's Day and we've finished our breakfast of heart shaped waffles and strawberries and Rhett had to go in to work...these days their whole team is working around the clock to get some final parts of their bio-fuel project built before potential new funding folks come later in the month...we had a fondue dinner with the other couples in my family last night. Very fun and very delicious. Just barely my phone rang and it is the South Carolina UPS people needing to get some info to clear a shipment from Thailand since it is for commercial purposes. That's right. My product is almost here! After a photo shoot next week I will be able to post pictures on my website and we'll be up and running...it's been a long process, with a lot of waiting but I'm excited. It's fun to have a project to kick off the THIRTIES! Yes, I turned 30 in January and felt like it was quite the milestone. I started thinking about everything that happened in my 20's.....

1. Graduated from Ricks College (Enlish Associates)
2. Spent several months in Ecuador volunteering in orphanages
3. Learned Spanish
4. Got a mission call to Brazil
5. Learned Portuguese
6. Finished mission, decided after 5 years of living out of state/country, it was time to settle down and finish school closer to home.
7. Moved to the "valley" and started work at a charter school and changed my educational trajectory to Finance.
8. Had a great time with great friends and then met this guy who suddenly was EVERYWHERE...and who was just persistently charming....
9. Fell head over heals, deeply, madly in love with this man and and was thrilled to marry him!
10. Bought our little condo near the univeristy and finished my Finance degree.
12. Started working for the family business doing book-keeping, etc...
11. Had a beautiful, beautiful little girl.
12. Juggled working from home and taking my sweet baby to the office twice a week along with being a supportive wife through the final grueling years of PhD research for Rhett.
13. Found out the partner of the family biz was actually a con man....lost my job and a whole lot of resources we had trusted this guy with and watched my family lose their business and credibility due to one person's dishonesty.
14. Got to know the FBI pretty good...felt like I was in a strange movie for a while and wondered what happened to my storybook life.
15. Hunkered down to focus on the good things like my wonderful husband, growing girl and a new baby on the way unexpectedly.
16. Had an idea for a business I wanted to start but had no idea how to go about it...
17. Kept on trying to enjoy life and salvage extended family relationships that were being sorely tried by the drama and stress of events #13 and #14
18. Had our beautiful little boy...
19. Rented out our condo and moved.
2o. Figured out a way to start my business.
21. Finished the PhD (not me but Rhett, but it felt like I had done it too) ! Hurray! Hurray! Hurray!
21. moved again...settled into more normal routine and started thinking about what to name my little venture
22. Came up with the name _______ (the suspense builds) for my business/company. A name inspired by a phrase I commonly used while in Ecuador to describe what was happening when things managed to go smoothly...and that brings that last ten years full circle, sort of.

So 30 and happy seems like quite an accomplishment. I (we) have enjoyed some great adventures, created priceless moments, endured some devastating deceptions, weighed what really matters, pondered who we want to be, and found true purpose and joy in family and life for all it's opportunities and challenges. Thinking about what can be accomplished in just 10 years led me to think about the whole first 30...going from a helpless, stranger to this earth to a thinking, reading, talking, reasoning, functioning "adult" and so I couldn't help but think that starting from this "adult" phase rather than the "helpless" phase, how much more full and impacting the next 30 years could be! It is actually kind of mind boggling...but now I've explained why 30 felt like a milestone and jumping off point all at once and was one of the best birthdays ever! Here are a few pictures of how we commemorated...

Rhett took me to hike Camelback mountain...back when we met, this was supposed to be our 3rd date but I forgot I had a group project meeting and cancelled it last minute. Rhett insists I was just being fickle but I honestly did have a prior commitment. It didn't matter, he won me over in the end. It was a gorgeous day for a hike. I started the day with a 4 mile run (not knowing about this surprise) and came to breakfast and the announcement of the hike plan.

This trail marker, is very accurate. Most of the hike is straight up, hauling oneself up and over boulder after boulder in order to enjoy an unonbstructed and therefore, endless vista was a good metaphor for celebrating life/birthday.

Then I got a pedicure while Rhett took the kids grocery shopping (my feet were tired after all that) and then we went to dinner at a place called Razz's. Rhett researched out a "boutique" restaraunt for me since I love a unique, one of a kind, artful, delicious eating experience. It was all of that.

The next day we had a dinner party both sides of the extended family. You'd think after Landen's #1 we'd know better but we did it anyways. After all, you only turn 30 once. This is the thought that drove Rhett to create the birthday cake featured in the below picture. I am not kidding here, he made that cake himself, from start to finish. Engineer hubbies rock!

Just an adorable picture of Landen hangout out with the other little ones at the kiddie table. Of course, my niece also makes a good focus subject for this picture too...I love her approach to the ice cream and will point out it is another good "life metaphor"...just eat it up! (Maybe that is more cliche than metaphor).

And here is Louisa to end this post...see ya!

P.S. A few days have passed since I started this post. My inventory has arrived, photo shoot is scheduled and I hope to announce the official opening soon. Stay tuned! (and please be prepared to help spread the news, I'm counting on a good amount of "by-word-of-mouth advertising."