Turning thirty

I'm not going to lie, the thought of my first thirtieth birthday (there will be more) initially freaked me out a little. It's amazing how fast time flies by!

This whole week leading up to my birthday has been amazing! Not that all of these wonderful happenings were to celebrate my last few days in my twenties, the timing of everything just turned out to be perfect.

It started last Thursday with a couple of our owners coming down. Between hanging out at the races/tiki bar and an awesome dinner at Pappadeaux's, it was so much fun to have them here! I can't even begin to express how wonderful these two are! I would still want to hang out with them even if they fired us ;)

Sunshine and drinks with friends=awesomeness

On Monday, my friend A flew down to see me. It was a fun and relaxing three days!

Bright colored tees and shades. Welcome to spring in Phoenix!

We spent time at the races, ate some pretty awesome food, and drooled over tack and riding gear at a super tack shop!

It will be mine! Eventually....

On Wednesday A and I went to a silent and live auction to benefit Anne Von Rosen, a jockey that was paralyzed here a couple of months ago. The amount of people that showed up to support her was amazing! It really showed how much of a family the racing world can be! There was so much faith that she will be able to walk again and everyone wants to do what they can to help her.

Bracelets for Anne

A and I did a little shopping before I dropped her off at the airport yesterday. Her coming to see me for my birthday was so wonderful! Ty let me slack off as far as the barn work went. I could actually hang out with her instead of her getting stuck watching me clean stalls and tacking horses all morning. I got to feel like I live a normal life for a few days :)

A watching hell-horse and Ty

Last night I came home to flowers and a couple of gorgeous scarves from Ty (he had already gotten me the Ogilvy half pad, One K helmet, and Prestige bridle as gifts too).

Me trying to get artistic with the scarves and flowers

My mom sent me a package that included some scrumptious cookies among other things. 'A' gave me this incredible lotion bar (I'm absolutely in love with it) from Lush Cosmetics on top of coming to visit.

Best lotion ever!

Yep, I TOTALLY got spoiled!

For the grand finale, I found out Ty and I get to go to the Kentucky Derby!

Hello Darling! I'll be seeing you soon!

This wasn't meant as a birthday present, but it sure as hell pushed my birthday from amazing to absolutely unbelievable!!! The owners that came to visit, got an awesomely located box for the Derby and they invited us! I booked our flight already (thanks A for finding affordable flights for me) and now just need to reserve the car and book the hotel. Oh, and shop for the dresses and hats. Pink for the Oaks and I still haven't decided what I want for the Derby. It's going to be spectacular and I still can't quite believe it!

Turning thirty went from being a little scary to the best birthday of my life. It's not the gifts I got, but the realization that the years of my life have led me to so many wonderful people. I seriously have the most amazing family and friends! Every year I meet more extraordinary people that make life all that much better.

So who cares about a number? Happiness preserves youth more than anything. It's the time we're given that really matters. I'm just grateful for the amount of it I've already had and the people I love that time has led me to.