[ My Birthday! ]

So I've been playing catch up on all our pictures the last couple of days, hence the reason for sooooo many posts! Hope you've enjoyed them though! And now I'm finally getting to my birthday pictures! I turned 26 on Saturday and it was a fantastic day! The weather was beautiful and we got to spend the whole day together as a family! John started the day off right by letting me sleep in and then we got ready and went to the park to play for a little bit. After that we went to my parent's house and celebrated with some lunch and a tasty mousse fruit cake! YUM! After that we went to the pool to soak up some rays and then I got to talk to some of my friends who called to wish me happy birthday while while Angie and John took a nap. Then we went over to John's parent's house to have a BBQ and some super delicious chocolate lover's cake! My favorite! (I forgot to have someone take pictures while we were at my in-laws house, I'll have to see if my sister-in-law took some!) And then to finish the night off, Lauren came over to watch Angie while John and I went to see Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. We both really liked the movie and definitely enjoyed getting out by ourselves for the evening! What an amazing day!

I got so many wonderful gifts for my birthday from both our families and from my friends, but I have to say my favorite gift was from John! He gave me the Cricut Expression!!!! For those of you who don't know what it is, it's an electronic die cut machine. It cuts paper into all different shapes and sizes depending on the cartridges you have. Mine came with the two shown below and I am so excited!!!!!! It's definitely a dream to have for someone who loves to scrapbook and make cards like me! I've been thinking about the Cricut for a long time now, but always tried to talk myself out of needing it, but I've always secretly wanted it! So thank you Johnny for pampering me with such a fabulous gift! I've already used it for a few projects! And then to top it off John got me a very sentimental and sweet card to go with it! I don't get sentimental cards very often so I definitely am treasuring it! Thanks Johnny! And thanks to everyone for making my birthday so special!

[ new hair, new shoes, new ME! ]

Shoes glorious shoes!
Group effort blowing out the candles!

Here is the "after" haircut picture, not my favorite pic but you get the idea! A beautiful rose from John!
Cutest and most delicious cupcake ever, I had to take a picture!

So for my birthday this past weekend I got a hair cut, highlights (for the first time ever!) and shoes! And if you know me, then you know of my passion for shoes! I got three pair for my birthday- Horray! I think my shoe fetish began when I started working at Famous Footwear back 5 years ago, I got super good deals on shoes and so of course I spent most of my paycheck starting my collection! Let's just say that I haven't stopped my collection! Like I said before, my motto is: "If the shoe fits, buy an outfit to match!"

So, here's a picture of my new kicks, thanks to my friends Natalie and Kira who each bought me a pair for my birthday! And as for my hair, I was really in need of a change and wanted to look more my age now that I'm 25! I had been talking about getting my hair cut ever since we came home and I had also been debating on whether I should get highlights or not, but I finally did it and I love it! Just like everyone else, I'm hooked! My hair looks so much better, although the pictures don't really do it justice!

Needless to say, by the pictures above, you can tell I had a wonderful birthday! My wonderful husband John, my family and friends spoiled me for a day, which was great to know that you're loved on your birthday! Thanks everyone for making it such a fabulous day! I felt like a queen for a day, which is how every girl should feel on her birthday, right?