happy BIG bday to me

it is my birthday today and it is a doozy!

all i will say is that it ends in a big, fat half century 0!

but...

what a beautiful day it has been

i have been surrounded by flowers...

like these sunny beauties sent to me by my

bestest jr. high and high school friend,

stephanie

and this gorgeous, classic bouquet given to me by my

beautiful sister and her husband and kids.

thanks you guys.

what a lovely surprise to see you this morning!!!

the rest of the day i was surrounded by these breathtaking mountain wildflowers....

paul was amazing.  he took the whole day off of work

 and organized 

one of my all time favorite things to do!!

atv riding.

i have this passion for very fast machines.

i love 

these

and

these

and

these

and i would own one of 

these

if i didn't have 5 kids.

we rode for 4 hours along rollinsville pass.

the views were spectacular and the wildflowers were magnificent.

thank you my darling for an amazing, memorable and adventurous day.

i love you and look forward to sharing my next 50 years with you.

we arrived home all tired and dusty to find...

 that margo had decorated the dining room table with 

a stunning array of gloriously wrapped gifts, fairy lights and towering white gladiolas.

so beautiful, margo

thank you.

laksa

nicole was in the kitchen making one of my favorite dishes.......

thank you too, sweetie.

you have all made this the most memorable of birthdays for me.

thank you all for your efforts and sharing with me your time, talents, gifts

and love.

i am truly blessed.