Happy 30th Birthday Thayne!

 First off, I have to say, I can't believe he is already 30! I don't feel old enough to be married to a man that old! But I guess time has a way of getting away from you when you are having fun. 

The kids couldn't figure out how to hold up enough fingers to show how old daddy is now, so I told them to hold up 3 fingers on one hand and make an "O" with the other hand. Phoenix had no clue what I was talking about. 

Secondly, I have to thank EVERYONE who helped make this party happen. I could have never done it without you! From all the wonderful family members who took the time to write notes of love, support and encouragement to Thayne, to Kaitlyn and Jordan who helped out with last minute preparation stuff and keeping Thayne "busy" until we were ready for him to come home (and for being so convincing about it too), and even to my kids; I will never know how three kids ages 6 and under managed to keep this party a secret for weeks, but they did awesome! And finally, thank you to everyone who came to the party and made it an actual party! Being in good company for an entire evening is a party in itself!

These are all the cards, notes and letters that people sent! That's a LOT of love! Thank you for sending them. I think reading through everyone's notes and cards was Thayne's favorite part. 

Because we are so far away from family this year, I wanted to give Thayne some love from home, so I emailed family members and asked them to take a moment to write him a note or card that I would save and give him on his birthday. Altogether there were more than 30 cards, notes and letters that family sent. I think it was my best idea out of everything just because it meant so much to him to hear from so many people and feel of their love.

 Thayne's other gift was a hunting/fishing license. Out of everything, that's what he wanted for his birthday, so the kids and I had fun putting together a hunting/fishing survival kit, and the money he needed to go get his licenses. Thayne is pretty excited to try his hand at saltwater fishing this year.

The other gift Thayne received for his birthday was this nightstand that I refinished for him. (he needed something for all his books and stuff)

before.....

After.

These are my amazing party helpers. The day of the party we were incredibly busy making a cake, cooking chili, cutting vegetables, putting up decorations, doing last minute cleaning... and these three were awesome through it all. I couldn't have done it without my Taysia girl. She made it fun!

Now, on to the decorations...

The theme of the party was "DIRTY THIRTY/OLDER THAN DIRT"!

I had fun putting together some ideas I've had for decorations (mostly off pinterest). One was this "30 Wall". I put together 30 of my favorite pictures of Thayne and displayed them in a big three-o. It added a fun display not only to look at, but for Thayne to remember some of the fun times we've had together. 

For most of the decorations I just stuck with a simple craft paper (dollar store) and twine (home depot) theme. Taysia helped me do almost all of it and had so much fun. She loved tying the napkins and making the banner. 

For my cupcake stand I just wrapped up a bunch of different size boxes with craft paper, tied a few ribbons around them and piled on the goodies. (I forgot to take a picture up close when it was full of cupcakes, but it held 24 and looked super cute.)

The cupcakes were AMAZING! Dirt cupcakes with worms! Recipe from www.yourcupofcake.com!

I have yet to try a cupcake recipe that she has posted and not be totally impressed!

(the jar of rocks started out as a jar with a few rocks in the bottom, and most of them scattered around the table, but after Phoenix put them all back in the jar 3 times I gave up and let it stay simply a jar of rocks. It wasn't quite what I had in mind, but I was okay with it.)

The cake was an idea that I got off Pinterest, however there was no link, just a picture, so I just took the idea and inserted my own recipe of choice which was a weight watchers chocolate cake recipe that I got from Amy years ago, and still love! (thanks Amy) 

It turned out perfect. I thought the Kit Kat bucket was a fun touch too.

The birthday boy with a giant paper airplane that Jarom made as a gift for him. :)

I forgot to mention, the cupcakes were delicious! (or did I already mention that?)

Just a few of our party crew. I wanted to take a picture with everyone that came, but unfortunately it slipped my mind until late that night after almost everyone had left. 

Thank you to everyone who came. It wouldn't have been a party without you guys!

It was such a fun party. I had a lot of fun putting it together, and the best part it, Thayne had NO clue. He was incredibly surprised and loved it! It was actually the first birthday party he's ever had, so I'm glad I took the time to make it kind of special. 

You know you are old when the candles on your cake are bright enough to make it look like the kitchen is on fire. hehe!

Overall the only thing that really cost me anything was the food, but even that wasn't too bad. We had Navajo tacos and Chili Dogs, fruit kabobs and a couple side salads that friends brought. 

It was a fun birthday!

And even though I'll probably never stop giving him a hard time about his age anytime soon, I have to admit, 30 never looked so good! So keep it up Thayne. I love you! and Happy Birthday!