The BIG 2-9

I'm a little late, but here are some pictures from my stupendous birthday. I LOVE surprises, which makes it hard to surprise me because I'm always hoping for one. :) So, Gary actually did surprise me on my birthday by having the whole family show up at 10:00 in the morning. He knew if we went anywhere, I'd be suspicious, so he had everyone come here. Very sneaky. I opened the door to find my brother on the porch and looked at him kind of, well, surprised. He lives 30-40 minutes away. He said, "We're supposed to be here at ten, right?" I said , "I don't know." Then we heard Gary laughing behind us. It was a successful surprise. Good job, Gare Bear!

We all bundled up and went sledding at the best hill at the elementary school. I haven't been sledding, well, probably since high school (which is ironic because I grew up in California.) But, every time Gary has taken the boys sledding, I've always been pregnant or didn't have gloves or didn't have a good coat or didn't have boots, etc. I've always had some excuse. Mostly, I think I was just scared. :)My human candle- made out of Heidi (Gary's sister) and Ryan.

Eddie's "Picture Face"

I'm the tall one in the middle.

Ben came with me on my maiden voyage to help me be brave. Andrew gave us a good solid push and I screamed all the way down.

Cari tested out the air mattress (provided by Jenn) for its sledability. She was scared, but the run was a success. The mattress was welcomed into our sledding family with open arms. It was just a little hard on the bum, though. :) But, very worth it since we could fit four adults on it and fly!

Andrew, an experienced sledder.

Gary and me going down the BIG hill. SO fun!! I quickly became addicted to the art of sledding.

After our fun in the snow, we came back for cinnamon rolls (provided very kindly by Gary's fam) and hot chocolate. 29 candles looked very much like . . . 29 candles.

Here's Cari and me racing. Watch until the very end. You get to see the beginning of Cari's infamous crash into the fence. And please ignore my annoying screaming. I wasn't exactly scared by this point, but screaming added to the excitement and you really didn't know when you'd completely lose control and break something, like a leg (right, Brandon? :). My nephew, Brandon, broke his leg sledding on Christmas Eve, which made us very careful.

It was a great birthday. Thank you, Gary, for planning it and to everyone who came! I love you guys!