The first anniversary of my 29th birthday.

Tonight, I received an AWESOME email from my Dad. It was short, but he has no idea how much it meant to me that he sent it to me. In it he wrote that this is a big birthday for me because it is the first anniversary of my 29th birthday! Seeing as I plan on having at least 50 more of these 29th birthdays I can really appreciate that comment.
I have been dreading turning 30. 30 just sounds like a grown up. I feel as though I have been kind of playing around with my life up until now and I can no longer say, "When I grow up I want to . . ." I am actually here. I kind of feel weird, like I don't know what I am supposed to do next. And that is why I decided to celebrate my birthday in the most childlike place I know. . . Disney World!
My mom and Jenna and Kristin are down here too and so we decided to spend part of the day together! We spent the morning together at Epcot doing Future World and part of the World Showcase. It was really fun and I am glad that we got to spend the morning together. After eating lunch in the Biergardens in Germany, Otto and I spent the rest of the day going around the World showcase and visiting the different countries. It was really fun. I LOVE learning about other cultures and seeing their art and tasting their food and smelling their smells (no seriously. . . I really do notice the smells!!).
Because this is the year of Celebrations for Disney, they have a variety of fun gifts that you can choose from on your birthday. You can either get a free admission to the parks, a gift card for the equivalent of the entrance fee, or a fastpass to 6 rides of your choice. Because we had already bought our passes, we chose the gift card. I am really good at buying gifts for others, but I have a hard time spending money on myself, so this was fun because Otto and I decided that I HAD to buy stuff for myself. So, I bought a nativity from Italy, a Mickey Mouse apron and some gifts for my favorite niece, nephew, nephew dog (I didn't get anything for my OWN pets, but I got something for my brother's dog. . . go figure hey?)and a gift to put in Robin's memorial box. After realizing that I had spent part of my gift card on other people, Otto and I went and bought a cute Disney World frame to put some of our favorite pictures into. I don't know where I will put it, but I am sure that I can find a place.
So, there you have it. We go home tomorrow after visiting the Animal Kingdom and then it is back to the real world. I have had so much fun being here with Otto and celebrating my birthday. I miss my kids like crazy, and it is definitely time to start heading home. I can't wait to see the kiddies and give them all their presents.
It has been a great 30 years, so far, and I look forward to celebrating the anniversary of my 29th birthday many, many, many more times.