A big birthday

I didn't expect Matt to really get bothered with turning 30. He's just not the type to really care about that stuff. However, I do think that no matter who you are, you tend to stop and think about where you are in your life and where you want to be.  Although 30 isn't old, I don't quite think you can categorize yourself in the "young adult" category much anymore. I asked Matt what he wanted to see in this new decade and it includes grown up stuff like kids and "settling down". It's drastically different than "getting through school" and "traveling". There's a part of me that doesn't want us to grow up. I hear, though, that a lot of people like their 30's more than their 20's which is comforting, because as much as I say 30 isn't a big deal, my day isn't too far behind. And I just don't think these fine lines are going away any time soon.

I threw Matt a surprise party for his big day. At first I thought I wanted to throw him a huge, bangin party, but after a lot of thought, I realized Matt is a simple guy. All he needs are good friends, good food, and good conversation. I thought a BBQ would be perfect and got a spot at a park.  We had some of his favs: polish dogs, coke in a bottle, potato chips with hot sauce and lime (so good), and then I baked him a cake and cupcakes for others. When I was thinking about what to do for him I wanted to make something different but completely 'Matt'. He loves a good, rare steak. Steak dinner it is! It was perfect for him. The inside is red velvet and raspberry. I must say I am quite happy with how the color of the cake turned out. Nice and meaty!

I got a huge pinata from a Mexican market and stuffed it so full that I wasn't sure the wire was going to hold it. We got noisemakers, silly string, and filled balloons with water so we could throw it all at him. His brother and a friend took him skateboarding before and showed up at the park because he thought we would be skating the bowl. At least he got cooled off. Success!