Happy Birthday to Me!

Once again, I  had a super fun birthday this year. 

 I still can't believe that I am 41 (it sounds so old) I don't feel like I am, but I figure that I can stay in denial about being in my 40's for a few more years. . .

My birthday is actually on the 22nd, but it started off on Friday the 21st with Pancho bringing me a bouquet of flowers to work in the morning.  I love that guy . . . it was so sweet!

Then he gave each of my students a flower to hand to me as they walked into the classroom.  The kids loved it and I ended up with this pretty bouquet.

. . .of course the school day was filled with well wishes from my students and the other teachers, as well as plenty of homemade cards, a round of the Happy Birthday song and filling my white board up with notes.  If you give 5th graders any reason to celebrate, they are all in!

very sweet

After work, I met a group of my dearest friends at the Ring of Fire for a birthday dinner.  My friend Janet's birthday is on the 21st and mine is on the 22nd, so we have had a combined birthday for the past few years.  It works out great, especially when her husband rents a limo for the night!

Brenda got me a super delicious dark chocolate cake (my favorite) from Sweet Life Bakery.

Steph and Brenda posed for this picture with me while everyone was singing Happy Birthday to Janet and I.  Janet got her own cake too, but she was at the other end of the table.  I am regretting that I didn't get a picture of us together :(

"The Ladies"

We had such a nice dinner at Ring of Fire.  This restaurant has the best Thai food ever!

Kelli and Brenda

Steph, Me and Amy

Kirsten, Melanie, Kelli, Janet, Brenda, Me, Steph, Amy, Mary, Shelly and Darbi

in front of the Hummer Limo!

Inside the limo on our way to "The Bridge" (a new bar in town), getting the party started!

Darbi, Kirsten, Janet, Melanie and Amy

Brenda and Me (self portrait)

I took this picture of us in the limo!

At The Bridge, we all ordered some yummy drinks!

Darbi, Megan, Michael, Brenda and Me

My co partner in crime and fellow 5th grade teacher, Mike and his girlfirend Megan met us  out at the Bridge with a few of their friends,

It was so fun to be with all of the girls and then having Mike and Megan there too was even better!

 

At around 10:30pm, the limo took most of the girls home, but a few of us die-hards were going to keep the party going! Darbi, Melanie, Me, Mike and Megan and some of thier friends headed out to do a little Karaoke!

Mike (who absolutely cracks me up at work every day) serenaded me with the ultimate teaching partner song   "I Swear" - but he changed a lot of the words ha ha.

Mike's girlfriend Megan is also super funny, beautiful and so fun to hang out with.  I was in shock, then laughing my *** off when they sang Aladdin's - A Whole New World and actually acted out the Magic Carpet ride using Mike's jacket.  So funny!

Melanie, Darbi and I actually got up there and sang a few choice songs too, including "Earl" and "I Will Survive", but alas - no one took any pictures of that.  Probabaly a good thing!

On my actual Birthday, which was Saturday.  I was awakened by a group of singing kids - Mine!  Max, Sam and Lucy (and Pancho) came in my room with breakfast in bed and homemade cards.  I didn't take any pictures of this, (you can thank me later) but it was very sweet!

That day I went to 2 Basketball games . . . Max won, Sam lost.  Then we met up with the friends for another "Julie Birthday Dinner"!

We had some bad luck at first, finding a restaurant that we didn't have to wait more than an hour to get into, but we ended up at Mookies, and it was so good!

They even brought me a piece of cake and sang Happy Birthday to me!

Out to dinner with us were the Dacar's, Ficeks, McCarthy's and Hakala's.

The guys sat at one end of the table.

. . . then there was the girls end of the table.

These are my girls, the ones who have been with me the longest, my sisters!

I always love a night out with this group of people.

. . . and the evening ended perfectly with "Mookie", the cook, coming out to wish me a Happy Birthday too!  Ha ha - so random.

All in all it was an amazing birthday with so many fun friends, new and old, and lots of good memories and laughs.  I am so thankful  for the life I have been given and all of the wonderful people in it, especially my husband who planned such a nice day for me! 

God is good!