30 Years.....Young?

Ross celebrated his 30th birthday on April 28th. I spent a lot of time, starting a month or two before his big day, rubbing in the fact that he is getting O-L-D! Ha! I'm not sure he appreciated it. When it came time to celebrate, though, we partied more like we were celebrating his turning 13! We had an awesome, super-fun Rock Band party with our friends here in Florence.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this game, the pictures below will probably explain it all. The long in the short of it, though, is that it's a video game (we borrowed from a family who lives here) in which three people at a time play. One is a drummer, one is a singer, and one plays guitar. This little "band" plays songs selected by the game and earns points. The points really don't matter, though - it's all about having fun!

We ate American food - fried chicken (with homemade Abners/Huey Magoos/Guthries sauce), mashed potatoes, salad, veggies, etc. The night was topped off with Ross' favorite birthday cake, Chocolate Fantasy cake. It is made 100% from scratch and takes two days because each of the three layers has to be frozen overnight before it can be frosted the next day. Yummmmm...moist, fattening goodness. :)

Anyway, here are some pics of our celebration...

Our teammate, Abigail, made Ross an awesome 30th birthday shirt to go along with the Rock Band theme.

Ross has a patented leg kick that he pulls out whenever he is rockin' it out in Rock Band.

Matt, Ross, and Davide were amazing - the best band of the night, for sure!

I rocked out, too, for a song or two. :)

Abigail also printed funny pictures of Ross and made "masks" for everyone. We pulled these out when it was time for birthday cake. :)

Our teammates Koren, Melanie, and Melody...

...Matt, Matt, and Davide...

...Jamie and Cassie...

...Sarah and Abigail...

...and even little Silas posed for pictures with their Ross masks!

Ross got some great gifts from our team (who, obviously, know him well).

Finally, on the evening of the 28th, Ross and I went out to dinner to celebrate. It was a real treat to get to go somewhere, just the two of us. Before we left, though, we took a family picture to commemorate this big day in Ross' life!

Congrats on turning 30, Ross! You are such a blessing in my life, a gift from God. Thank you for always putting me (and Colton) first, for serving well, for leading well, for being a trustworthy man of integrity, and for making my life so much fun! I love you!