Celebrating Taylor's 30th!

If you know me at all, you know that I LOVE to throw a party! I started asking Taylor about two months ago what he wanted to do for his birthday and it was the typical, "I don't know." Ugh! To say the least, it kind of got put on the back burner considering everything else that has been going on. While on our mini-vacation last weekend, I insisted that he make some sort of plan to celebrate. I mentioned LOTS of things, but he ultimately decided on dinner and a comedy club. I immediately began to text everyone the plan and get a count for who would be able to attend.

I wanted to have some sort of surprise incorporated with his birthday, so I secretly sent a text to his friends in Tyler: Jason & Alicia and Ryan & Alicia. Ryan and Alicia were immediately in! Jason and Alicia made a last minute decision to come, but everything worked out without a hitch!

What a perfect night! We started off by meeting 3 other couples at the Pour House before dinner. I loved the 'chill' atmosphere and getting to see everyone!

The Switzer's, Gibson's, Lansford's and Smith's

Jason and Alicia

Josh and Briana

Ryan and Alicia

 After the Pour House we went to Pappadeaux to stuff our faces! I think we all ate light all day so that we could have empty bellies for such a delicious dinner. We are so blessed to have such amazing friends and family to celebrate the BIG things and the small things in our lives. There were 17 of us for dinner...

Sweetest friend in the world...Camille!

Ashlee and Dale

Chris and Anne

Doug, Lindsay and Rhonda (Lindsay's Mom)

Aaron and Taylor

Ryan and Alicia

Picture Posing Time!

Uh...yep, that's my husband :)

Who knows! Obviously they're in awe of the Captain America tattoo!

The Smith Brothers: Taylor, Chris and Doug

Jason, Taylor and Josh

SISTERS!

After stuffing ourselves, some of us walked over to Four Day Weekend for an improv comedy show. It is a MUST if you're in the FtW area! I haven't laughed that hard in a long time and it was well worth our money. We were a few minutes late to the show, which meant that NO seats were available in the theater for 10 late comers. Oh well! We placed our booties on the stairs and watched the show from there. The next time we will definitely be early :)

Me, Briana and Anne

Me and Briana

After Four Day Weekend, some needed to get on the road to head home while the rest of us went to the Flying Saucer. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful night...absolutely gorgeous!

Our sweet friends from Tyler. So blessed!

Large Fries and a Diet Coke...yes please! I think I might have left a
handful for Taylor. My weakness at midnight driving home :)

 Oh yeah...and my gift to Taylor...

Cowboys Tickets!

Beach or BUST!

After everything that we've gone through over the past few weeks, Taylor suggested we get away for a weekend and spend some US time! Amen! So we headed to the beaches of Port Aransas and had a fabulous time! I had no idea that we were only 3 hours from San Antonio and 5 hours from the beach. We will definitely be going back soon :)

ROAD TRIP with my best friend!

We arrived in San Antonio at lunch time, so we decided to take a detour to the River Walk. We originally planned to stay in San Antonio for the weekend and we were so glad we changed our minds. We were bored after about 20 minutes of walking up and down the River Walk!

Our first stop was at the USS Lexington, which is the ship that Taylor's grandfather was assigned to during the war. Taylor was in heaven! I love seeing him light up and explore his child-like side :)

Look at how thin the helicopter is!

 

I can't imagine working, much less living, on a ship like this. You had to climb several flights of stairs everywhere you went inside the ship. Let's just say...I got my workout!

Yep...just call me Captain!

I found the blow hole of AC! I hogged it for a while :)

After the USS Lexington we went to check-in at our hotel and got ready for our evening. Friday was our 11 month anniversary, so I surprised Taylor with a Dinner/Sunset Cruise in Port Aransas. It was a great experience! We got to see dolphins, capsized boats and really enjoyed the others on the boat.

These million dollar boats are everywhere! I'm in the wrong profession :)

This was the dinner that was served to us: FRIED hushpuppies, FRIED shrimp, FRIED mahi mahi, sliders, potato salad, coleslaw and chocolate chip cookies. Not what I was expecting for the price that we paid, but the experience was worth it!

 

FERRY! The last time I was on a ferry was in Canada about 14 years ago. I loved it, even though it is only a 3 minute commute. We got lucky every time we needed to get on. Others weren't so lucky and waited for 45 minutes to an hour in order to board.

 On Saturday we decided to hit the beach! Pure heaven! It was so neat to be able to pull up on the beach in your vehicle. Definitely a plus in the future with kids! The seaweed was ridiculous, but I was at the beach and didn't care :)

This is why you bring an engineer to the beach! Supplies: 1 sheet, 1 lawn chair, 1 truck, 1 lug wrench, 1 tire changing arm and a tie strap...SHADE!

For lunch we ate at the Port Aransas Brewing Company. I had a DELICIOUS hamburger and will definitely be visiting again on our next visit. I loved the beachy atmosphere on the island. Everyone drove golf carts around!

Taylor treated me to a very nice dinner at Niko's in Corpus Christi for dinner on Saturday night! Afterwards we took the Ocean Drive scenic route and stopped at a pier for pictures.