28 on the 28th. August 28th, 2018, to be exact. Today is February 28th, 2019, AKA my half birthday, AKA 6 months past my Golden Birthday. I’m so excited to finally be writing this post all about my Golden Birthday. I’ll admit, it feels a little strange to write a post all about me… but it isn’t really all about me. It’s about my incredible family and friends who made a girl feel extremely loved, cared about, and like a freaking rock star.

July 1st, 2018 – Denny finally proposed to my sister, Emma. Haha. One of the biggest things to nail down for wedding plans was choosing the actual wedding day. I half-jokingly teased them about not picking a date too close to my birthday because, ya know, it’s MY Golden Birthday this year… it’s gunna be huge. Guess what? They chose September 1st, just 4 days after my birthday. It’s fine. I was super happy for them that they were able to hunker down on a date. I knew that my Golden Birthday wouldn’t be a thing because we would all be in the thick of crazy/fun/busy wedding shenanigans, and I got over it really quick. Wedding trumps birthday! I realized that and all was well in the world. I figured that maybe we’d have a BBQ or something on my birthday with a quick celebration, after all, people gotta eat anyway, right?

Well. My birthday came. It was a Tuesday. To be honest, I don’t remember the morning very well. I have mom-brain and pregnancy-brain right now so… this is harder than I thought! I’m sure that Josh and the girls made a nice breakfast for me. I remember Josh saying, “Would you like your present now?” … so early in the day? “Sure!” Some new LuLu’s. Sweet!
We went out to my parents for some wedding shenanigans. People were acting. I could tell. There was quite a bit of overcompensating going on. I knew something was up. “We’re having a final wedding meeting at Burton’s house tonight at 6.” People kept saying. I had my suspicions that they must be holding a nice little surprise family BBQ for me. How thoughtful.
Wrong.

The next bit is a little hazy. For some reason the “wedding meeting” got changed to our house. Uh-oh, our house is a mess! We walked in and I started to clean up. I had a bin and Josh said, “Why don’t you take that to our room.” … Why? That’s wierd. He insisted. So around the corner I went and there hanging in the doorway was….

A gold, sequins dress.

Attatched was this note:

I got ready and was picked up by my handsome hubby, who blindfolded me and took me for a drive. I lost all sense of direction and had no idea where he was taking me. He parked and helped me out of the car. We seemed to be walking under a covering but there wasn’t a door? (I was rather disoriented) … This place smelled familiar to me but I couldn’t put my finger on where we were. Someone’s house, I was sure.

The blindfold came off. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” was shouted. There were my people. All lined up to welcome me at an event center in town. There was a faux-champagne glass tower, and gold decor everywhere. Josh had asked all the guests to dress in black and white. I was completely surprised.

The evening was something out of a movie. But let me assure you, this was real life. Real humans pulling off real surprises and pouring real love all over me. There was food and visiting and then there were speeches. My brother Emcee’d the evening and he was interrupted in the beginning by my friend Levi. He started saying some nice things and kind of erupted into a song… he acted confused and sang the phrase again… And then the most.epic.thing.ever. happened. Que FLASHMOB video!!!

My face was hurting. So much laughter. So much happiness. The flashmob was Emma’s brainchild, and Jodi was a rockstar for choreographing! It COMPLETELY blew my mind!!!

Following that, the most heartwarming speeches were told- way too kind, but so appreciated. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to hear people speak at my funeral. People always say such wonderful things about the deceased. I felt like I got a taste of that and it was so touching.

The night didn’t end there. Josh got up and spoke and gave me a “Golden Award.”

Happy Birthday was sung to me as the most delicious cake was brought over. Thank you, Nicole!!!

During the eating of the cake, Josh got up and started talking about how he wanted to find the perfect gift for me for my golden birthday and how he had been thinking about it for months. He wanted it to be something gold. So there I was, sitting there thinking… ok! Wow… he’s about to present me with a piece of jewelery…When in walks his sister, Jenna, with…

A GOLDENDOODLE PUPPY!

I think my facial expressions say it all.

Our puppy, August, is now 8 months old and just as sweet as ever.

I love this group photo. I’m sad that we didn’t take it at the beginning before some people had to leave.

It’s only been 6 months, and in writing this post I can tell that I’ve forgotten some details, but I know that I will never forget how I felt.

It’s hard to express how thankful I am for everyone who came. You all made me feel so, so special. Thank you especially to everyone who had a hand in helping with the plans in any way. To Nicole, thank you again for the delicious cake and for taking some of the photos. To Pam, thank you again for capturing so many awesome moments. To Jodi, thank you again for helping with the decor and of course the best flashmob dance in the history of ever. To Liz, Jenna and Brook, thank you again for helping with the puppy. To Allison, thank you for your planning contributions. To Emma, sis. Thank you for helping so much with so many aspects of this day and for allowing it to happen so happily during your special week (Thanks to Denny too!). To my Josh. You sure know how to make a girl feel like a million bucks. Blown out of the water. I’m so glad that we’re in this for eternity. You never cease to amaze me.

What a Happy, Happy Golden Birthday to me. A day that I will cherish forever.

Thanks for scrollin’

XOXO The Birthday Girl