The Best Birthday Ever

Oh my gosh. I don't even know where to begin with this blog. I had planned to blog last week and I'm truly attempting to get better at blogging again, but these past few weeks have just been crazy with everything that's going on. I finally feel like things are starting to get back to normal!

So first off, just in case you haven't heard, Joe and I are engaged! Hooray! And last week was my 30th birthday. It was a big week, and we had a LOT to celebrate. 

Because this year was such a big birthday, we had planned a big party the Saturday before to get all our friends and family together. So Saturday (June 24th), we scheduled a party and even my brother, Sean, and his gf, Colleen flew in from Chicago to be there to celebrate. Jeri, my sister, wanted to do a brunch with everyone Saturday morning so we could have some family time before the festivities began, so Joe and I decided to take Grohl on a walk at Chatham Manor (one of my favorite spots in Fredericksburg) beforehand. 

Joe is so funny. He kept saying he wanted to match with me at breakfast because Sean and Colleen always dressed nice, and he wanted to make sure we looked nice too and that I didn't wear my blue jean romper because I wore it all the time. He probably talked about that thing like 10 times, and made me swear not to wear it. He even had Jeri in on it and Jeri gave me like 5 outfits to choose from in case I needed something. For the record, the blue jean romper is super cute and I don't wear it ALL THE TIME. It's just something cute and comfy to throw on when I don't want to think about it. I didn't realize it was that big of a deal. 

Anyways, we matched and it was cute. Even Grohl matched in his little bandanna. So off we went to Chatham Manor.

We got there and let Grohl roam around off leash because he's well behaved and likes his freedom. And before I know it we're standing at the edge of the property that overlooks the city (photos below!) and Joe's telling me how much he loves me as he gets down on one knee, and asks me to marry him. I can't honestly tell you what I said, but I believe it was along the lines of just yelling Joey and slapping him like this was joke. I was beyond surprised. 

After a few minutes of actually registering what was going on, he told me that Minh of Instant de Vie Photography was there capturing the moment, and out popped Minh from behind the wall with her camera! And so we did a little photoshoot along the grounds.

Grohl was very well behaved until about half way through when we made our way to the side with the beautiful gardens and he saw some fish in a pond and jumped right in...So if you closely enough, the second half of the shoot features a very wet pup where as the first half he is very dry. What a nut!

So along with me trying to comprehend exactly what was going on, I was asking Joe who knew other than him, and he said only my sister. That he didn't tell anyone else because he wanted me to be able to do it...including he had not told my dad. I was a little taken aback by that and surprised because we are very close with both of our families and I thought for sure that he would have told everyone! So I tried to formulate a plan so that we could still tell my dad first and get his blessing before breakfast.

I had a plan all worked out. As soon as we got to breakfast, I would take my ring off and we would talk to my dad before telling everyone that we were engaged. 

So we went home to drop Grohl off, and Joe begs me not to take my ring off. So I agree trying not to forget before breakfast. I get out of the car to walk back and let Grohl in the gate to our backyard, and as I walk back there, both of our families are back there waiting for us with a huge breakfast! Surprise #2 that Joe got me with.

Apparently, every body knew except for me, and as soon as we left the house, our families swooped in to set up everything. They even made a congratulations video, and set up a video of me arriving and balling my eyes out. I love surprises, but as a Type A, detail oriented person who doesn't miss much, it's really hard to get one past me. And Joe completely got me. I had no idea and it was so unexpected, but I am still in somewhat of a shock that this all really happened.

After such an amazing morning, I knew all of my friends were coming in for the party that night, so as much as I wanted to post it and shout it out on the rooftops, I decided to wait so that I could enjoy telling everyone in person at the party. So once we had most of the people there at the party, we made the announcement! It was so much fun to celebrate with everyone and getting to spend time with all the people who came out for my birthday. We had so much to celebrate and are so thankful for every person who was able to come celebrate with us.

Not only do I get to marry my best friend, but I had the best birthday ever. 

So a huge, huge THANK YOU. Thank you to to everyone who made my birthday so incredibly special with their well wishes and love for my birthday and the engagement. The out-pour of love, 'Finallys' and 'It's about time's' was amazing. And I read each and every post over the past few weeks. I seriously cannot thank everyone enough. My heart is so full and I am so incredibly blessed by each and every person. 

A big thank you to Jeri who I know had a large part of this and helped Joe with the details and keeping it a surprise from me. Best sister ever; to Sean and Colleen from coming in for my birthday and being there to celebrate with me! It wouldn't have been complete without you; to my parents for being so supportive and excited, even if my mom didn't call me for a week so that she wouldn't spill the beans; to the Plebans for making me a part of the family from the beginning and being excited to make it official.

And last but not least, a big thank you to Joe, of course. For being the love of my life, my best friend and fellow goofball. I was never really sure how I wanted to be proposed to and had imagined it a hundred different ways, but this was by far the best way it could have been done. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who made this birthday the best one ever!