Well, it’s official! I’m 30!!! I could tell you that I feel old, or that I'm starting to see wrinkles, or that my youth has vanished. But I’ve decided not to go down that road. I have so many things to feel thankful for. For instance, how lucky I am to have so many people that care so much about me to make me feel so special on my big 3-0.
On Saturday, the 21st of August, my day started off like any other. I was at hair2dye4 plucking along as if it was any other day. And that’s when I spotted it. The man dressed like Austin Powers “the international man of mystery” walking into the salon. I didn’t think much of it until I heard someone say, “Is he here to sing for someone’s birthday?” I quickly swung around to take a glance, and there he was with a balloon that had 30 on it walking my way. “CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!” I turned 5 shades of red, and continued to be thouroughly embarassed during Austin's wacky, perverted performance. The following video is courtesy of the one and only, Mrs. Dani Jorowski. Just so you know I have plenty of time to plan your 40th birthday my friend! You have been warned.
On Sunday, the 22nd of August, Ken took me along with Ashton to the East India Company for some tasty grub. We then headed out to a surprise he had planned for me. It ended up being a night at the Hilton in the honeymoon suite. It brought back fond memories of our wedding night, except this time we had Ashton and Suki in tow. It was VERY romantic. ;) We threw a pair of little swimmers on Ashton, filled the jacuzzi tub up with a ton of bubbles, hopped in and had a hell of a time splashing around. Suki wanted to join us, but needless to say it was already a little crowded!!
After a good night’s rest, we arose from our king sized bed at 6:00am, and were out the door by 6:45am. We dropped off the little man at Grandma Malczewski’s, brought Suki home, fed her, and we were back on the road by 7:30am. Next up? Zip lining in the Pembina Valley!! It was AWESOME!!!!! I “highly” recommend trying this adventure that Manitoba has to offer. There were 5 zip lines strategically placed between hiking trails that ranged from 500 feet to 1000 feet long, over 150 foot drops. The rides over the ravines were strikingly beautiful and it is something I won't soon forget. I can now strike that off my “Bucket List”!
After a quick bite to eat, Ken then took me to the Pembina Valley Provincial Park to go hiking. If you ever find yourselves heading that way, don’t be deterred by the roads that take you there. At one point Ken was wondering what he got ourselves into, but we were pleasantly surprised when we reached our destination. There were beautifully maintained hiking trails and picturesque look-outs at every turn. You can never go wrong with being out in nature!
After such an exciting day, we headed back to Winnipeg to pick up Ashton and then home where Ken promised me I’d have time to clean myself up for a dinner out with Dani and Schmick. As I walked through the door I was met with a few familiar faces in our dining room. And when I looked out into our backyard, there was approximately another 40 friendly faces awaiting my arrival! I quickly opened our patio door, and yelled out “SURPRISE!” and beat them all to the punch! Earlier that day, Ken asked me if I wanted to “freshen myself up a bit” for our hike. I thought that was the strangest question at the time, but now I understand where he was coming from. I figure if anybody knows me, they know that they’ll usually find me sporting a bandana or a hat of some kind.
After eating a wide variety of fruits, veggies, chips, dips, dogs and burgers, Ken brought out the cake of all cakes. That’s right folks; it was a “cock cake”. Appartently during his quest to find such a cake, he encountered a few odd looks and reactions before he finally found a place that was more than willing to accomodate his strange request. After biting off the tip, and pretending to lick the balls, we cut it up and served it out. I tried not to laugh when the kids surrounded me glaring at the odd looking veiny, purple tipped cake begging for a big slice. The funniest part was listening to the adults fighting over the slices of hairy balls!!
We ended the evening with a backyard fire and a few beers. It was a great time to be had. Thank you for all that attended, and sorry to all those individuals who received their invites late. Ken tried his best, but in his defense, he had very little opportunity to plan this between renos, watching Ashton and of course spending some quality time with his wife. :) But I am so fortunate to have someone love me so much to have planned this fantastic, epic weekend for me. Thank you my love, and to all that helped him along the way.
See? 30 ain’t so bad. In fact, it’s a rite of passage I was more than happy to take!
