Surprise Birthday Weekend

I don't even know where to start when it comes to this past weekend. It was the BEST weekend ever minus our wedding lol. I was surrounded by so many people I love and was utterly shocked by everything they planned for me. I guess, I should start in the beginning lol.

A few weeks ago, Mark told me he planned a "staycation" for my 30th birthday on the weekend of Feb. 4th. My actual birthday is the 11th but he's going to be out of town for work. I am the worst when I know I have a surprise coming because I start asking a million questions and snoop into everything lol. I tried to be good because I truly didn't want to ruin the surprise.

On Friday, he told me to be ready by 5:30 and gave me some sort of idea of what to pack. I was ready and we headed off to his aunt and uncle's house to drop off the pups. After we left their house, he told me we were going to Palm Desert. I was surprised but also suspicious because he told me to get completely ready before we left and that's quite a drive. He took several detours to throw me off and then all of a sudden we pulled into an Inn in Temecula. We checked in and head to our room. He was trying to stall so we sat out on the balcony for a little until our reservation. We walked over to the restaurant and then they led us to a back room where SURPRISE, my family and friends were waiting for me. I was shocked and I think this picture pretty much sums up my emotions. I started balling because I saw everyone there and even my Grammie came from Michigan! We had a super yummy dinner and then I found out that there were more surprises coming in the morning. :)

The next day, they had a party bus pick us up to take us to a few wineries. The bus was decked out with birthday party decor. So fun! The extra surprise was that my friends Emily, Dina, and Will joined us on the winery tour. :) We went to three different wineries and tried LOTS of wine. Then we ended the tour with a picnic style lunch with sandwiches from Great Harvest. For a person who had just got done with Whole30, bread sounded amazing lol!

Afterwards, we went back to the hotel and relaxed for awhile before dinner. It was nice to just sit outside and chat with the girls. We even walked around the property before we realized how cold it was and went back inside lol!

We had dinner in Old Town at a Mexican restaurant. The food was soooo good! Oh how I missed tortilla chips!  After we ate, the guys headed back to the hotel and the girls went to a restaurant down the street, that had live music. It was relaxing and low key... definitely my style. :) We didn't stay out long and went back to the hotel to just hang out.

The next morning we had to say goodbye to everyone. Ugh, I hate goodbyes. I had such an amazing weekend and I couldn't accurately convey how grateful I was/ am that they wanted to do something so special for me. I've always struggled when it comes to my friend groups. I've never quite felt like I fit in but these people in my life just make me feel so loved and accepted. I can't even tell you how good that feels. I am so grateful for the people who came and even those who weren't able to make it. I have the BEST family and friends. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for loving me so well. Thank you to my mom and Mark for planning this shindig. You're the best! I am in tears just thinking about you all! :)

**A special thanks to Aunty Kathy for taking so many pictures!!! :)