well, another birthday has come and gone and the biggest difference is that i am no longer a twentysomething. it’s ok, though. i’m not freaking out. everyone says their 30s were some of the best years of their lives, so i’m actually kind of excited to have entered this period. i’m anticipating things to come, and it feels really good <3

being celebrated also feels really good! which is why i’m still basking in the glow of the weekend on monday morning. so much time and effort was put forth by so many people to ensure i had a wonderful, memorable weekend. i would be remiss if i didn’t mention shirley and the two days she took off work to prep for the big party on saturday. hours and hours of cooking and cleaning and errand-running, all for me. do i have a wonderful mother-in-law or what?

not to mention the other amazing women in my family (my mom, rodi, tai, auntie margie and auntie loretta) who brought all kinds of homemade deliciousness for my guests to enjoy. and antonella, a wonderful friend with a talent for baking, who made 70 of the most adorable cupcakes i’ve ever seen.

and, of course, my parents. not only did they CREATE me (haha), but they also treated us to a very enjoyable birthday dinner on friday night at quinn’s lighthouse, a restaurant of my choice. in addition to all that, my mom took ellie for a walk during my party when i needed a break, and my dad manned the video camera all night. i cannot wait to see the ridiculousness he caught on tape :)

thank you, also, to brianne for wiping my tears and calming my nerves during a moment of extreme stress (and for taking pictures when i realized i hadn’t been taking any – oops!), and to alyssa’s dear husband matt for lighting my candles when ryan was off dealing with ellie <3

and to all the other friends and family who joined in the celebration on saturday, especially josh who made the eight-hour drive from san diego just to be there; flo & brian, who are surely the busiest couple of all with their wedding coming up in less than a WEEK; and all the rest of you amazing people. each one of you made it an event i will always remember, one of the best nights of my life.

and finally, to ryan, the love of my life, the single most selfless person i know, the one who makes everything possible. thank you for my party, thank you for my daughter, thank you for giving me all that i could ever want. i love you so much.

“happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.”
.aristotle.

on sunday i took my mom to one of the greatest places in the world, color me mine, for a few hours of ceramics painting and mother/daughter bonding.

i was really looking forward to it because my mom had no idea where i was taking her, but i knew she was going to love it. at first she seemed a little skeptical when we pulled into the parking lot and i said, “we’re painting pottery, ta-da!” … but once we got inside and she picked the piece she was going to transform into a work of art, she was all about it.

i decided on an oval platter and she picked a small plate she will instead use as a candle holder. we sat together by the window for three hours, painting, talking and listening to the low hum of people talking around us. we had nowhere to be and nothing to think about other than which shade of blue we were going to use next. truly, it was as relaxing as a day at the spa.

my mom and i don’t get to spend much of time together one-on-one, so our therapeutic day of painting was extra special. i’ll edit this post with a picture of the finished products when i pick them up next weekend :) happy, happy belated birthday, mom!

last weekend we had a lovely picnic in the park with grandma and grandpa lack, rodica’s niece abby and her nephew david, and ellie’s aunties erica and carerra. we felt very lucky because all of them drove at least an hour to meet in our neighborhood <3 it was also a good time to celebrate because it was the weekend before carerra turned 22. happy birthday, carerra!

speaking of carerra, she's starting to look a lot more pregnant now, and super prego carerra is soooo cute! :)

trust me when i tell you the lack family knows how to have a picnic. we had fried chicken, potato wedges, buffalo wings, onion rings, fresh macaroni salad and strawberry shortcake for dessert. i’m salivating now just thinking about it.

after lunch we went over to the swings and the water fountains. the older kids had lots of fun running around in the water, and ellie enjoyed it, too, but she kept her distance ;)

it was a great day. hooray for lack family picnics!

“when you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses…”

ellie’s very first cousin EVER, little miss lillian grace, is due to arrive in just 77 days …

… although you can hardly tell by looking at her auntie ‘rerra, who looks as good as ever!

we’ve taken ellie to tilden park several times since she was born, but we never managed to make it over to the little farm until last friday. my mom, ellie and i met our friends yvonne, tam and fiona at the little farm *first* to ensure we’d make all the stops, and just as we suspected, the girls loved it.

we saw cows, goats, pigs, chickens, turkeys, roosters and ducks. it was so cute watching the girls feed the cows. they were so brave! not at all afraid of those big, pink tongues … of course ellie has had lots of practice from giving riley so many treats at home ;)

when we reached the pigs, she snorted!

after all the farm animal fun, we drove to the merry-go-round. it was ellie’s third or fourth time and she definitely likes it more as she gets older. we rode it twice and she cried when it was time to get off!

then it was time for fiona’s nap, so yvonne and tam took off and my mom, ellie and i headed over to the steam train … because a visit to tilden park just wouldn’t be complete without a ride on the train!

we had a great time at tilden, as always, and are looking forward to our next visit <3