Did Someone Say 40?!!!!!

Last week my dear husband turned 40! And boy did we celebrate. The first of the celebration happened on the last day of February. We were thinking about getting a new car because our Cruiser was nine years old and starting to fall apart. So we sat down and decided just how much we could spend and came up with some great, conservative options for the type of car we should buy. We did research on reliability and value and were feeling very logical in our decisions. So we went out on Saturday evening to test drive our practical cars. As we were driving by a car dealership Darren saw a convertible BMW sitting out front on display. We pulled in "just to look" (the dealership was supposed to be closed). They let us test drive it, and it was sweet. Of course we couldn't buy it because it was just too impractical. As we were standing outside talking to the salesman, my dear husband saw another BMW in the back row of the lot. Long story short, we left the dealership at one a.m. with a new (used) BMW 328i.

Oh, but that's not all! Before I knew that we would be buying a new car, I had planned (and payed for) a surprise 40th birthday trip to Las Vegas. So last weekend we drove our new BMW to Las Vegas. We saw a Cirque Du Soleil show called Ka and had a great time (the Schnepf's came too because it's his 40th soon). Our favorite part of the trip was watching the fountains at the Bellagio. Our least favorite part was realizing how old we are because our favorite thing was the fountains at the Bellagio! That and the fact that we were asleep before 11 p.m. both nights.

Then, on the actual day of the birthday, we had a celebration at home. Nothing fancy but the kids and I had some jokes we wanted to play. The PPC (Party Planning Committee) got together and came up with some decorations. Fans of The Office may recognize our inspiration.

A statement of fact.

Barely inflated balloons hung from the light and scattered on the table. Color scheme= brown, black and gray.

We "forgot" to get birthday candles so we used number candles that added up to 40!

I am so lucky to have such a wonderful husband. He is smart and kind and makes me laugh every day. He is a great father and the kids look forward to him getting home every night. He works hard to provide for us and takes good care of us. He is my best friend and I love to be around him. I can't believe how fast these last seventeen years have gone. Happy Birthday, I Love you!