30-Year-Old Pin-Up Star

I'm 30 today. Hooray! Honestly, I love my birthday - I love birthdays in general, but I'm mature enough to admit that my birthday is the best. I used to feel . . . bad? guilty? disappointed? . . . about making a bigger deal over my birthday than anybody else did. Don't get me wrong - my parents are awesome about recognizing the anniversary of our births (with a few exceptions - you know what I mean, mom!). But it's my birthday. I'm the most excited.

And 30 - a milestone. I understand a lot of people have a tough time with 30. BJ wasn't too fond of the event. But, I'm really not so worried about that number. I'm married to an awesomely handsome partner and my best friend, I have my dream home (even if we have a mega-mortgage and all the upkeep that comes with it), I have a beautiful daughter with another kiddo on the way, I'm further along in my career than I thought I'd be, and - shoot! - I think I'm cuter now than I ever have been. What's to worry about? "Thirty" does sound weird, though. I mean, come on - I've had 10 years to get used to hearing "twenty- ". Of course it sounds weird!

A few months back, my bellydance gals had the fabulous idea to go as a group to a Pin-Up Workshop at g boutique. It was "taught" by our favorite burlesque dancer, Michelle L'Amour and promised to be an awesome time. Now, when we planned this I wasn't pregnant and didn't have faith that I would be. But, I thought it would be a hysterical, fabulous way to celebrate my 30th birthday. A gift to me! So yesterday, I spent the morning getting my hair styled a la 1943 with a few girlfriends, lunch and noodling around downtown Naperville, then zipping off to the city with the rest of the crew for our photo session.

Ladies - you absolutely must do this in your lifetime! It was sooo much fun. First, who doesn't like to be treated like a beautiful model? We had a professional make-up artist, a professional photographer (all women), our choice of gorgeous unmentionables to wear, wine, munchies, and lots of giggling. Best birthday present ever. And it really was for me - I know BJ will enjoy the photos, but he's a man. Pretty easy to please along those lines. I felt sexy, I felt like "Look at me - I'm on the eve of my 30th birthday, I'm hot, and I'm four months pregnant!"

I can't wait to get the pictures.

Lippoldt Family Vacation Re-Cap

Well, the last few weeks of work were completely insane. Nothing to say about that, other than I'm glad they're done and past. As soon as we could "get the hell out of Dodge", we did just that and, the morning following my last day of work we loaded up the family truckster and began our journey to Branson.

I mentioned the morning, didn't I? Yeah. Three'o'clock in the morning.

Truly, that was pretty genius on our part. We (well, Zoe and I) haven't been to Branson since last April. Travelling with a 1-year-old was interesting, but travelling all that way with a 2-year-old was going to be something else all-together. We figured that, by leaving at 3, we'd reach St. Louis before Zoe wanted to eat and got too active. When I scooped her out of bed, she was fast asleep. She stayed that way until we got outside to get in the car and the cool air hit her face. But, miracle of miracles, she remained calm and happy and was back asleep in an hour. Better yet, she didn't wake up until 45 minutes before our first scheduled stop at Telegraph Road. Score 1 for the parents.



We completely surprised my father when we walked in the house about noon that day. He quickly made me snap a photo of the cactus blooming near the front drive.

The week included visits with my grandparents, negotiating drama between my parents (who are trying to clean out/re-arrange the family compound), Zoe's first trip to an amusement park, first time horseback riding, and lots & lots of child-friendly DVDs. Unfortunately, the weather was very un-southwestern Missouri. Lovely, sunny days with mild temps in the upper 70s and practically no humidity. I say unfortunately because that ruled out all the water rides and a trip to White Water. We didn't have a boat this year, so that was out of the question anyway. Can I tell you how strange it is to be down there looking out over Table Rock Lake and not spend any time on the water?



Zoe thought Steal-Your-Dollar City was phenomenal. We spent nearly the whole time in "Tom Sawyer's Landing" where she romped on the rope-riddled tree fort thing, rode the carousel, rode the balloons and rode the balloons some more. Despite the already high admission prices, we've decided to do a multi-day pass next time. And, she's free until her fifth birthday - can't beat that with a stick. To top it off, there were only a couple of minor tantrums and she fell asleep in her stroller as we walked back to our car. Score 2 for the parents.

If you're ever planning on a trip to Branson, you have to do horseback riding at Uncle Ike's. It's right on Highway 76 between Silver Dollar City and Highway 13. It's a great trail, well-cared-for horses, and a good value. That's my advertisement - they've been there forever. Zoe went gaga over the horses. We rode together (any more pregnant and we'd have been too heavy!) and I'll never forget the joy in her voice. She'll be talking about that horse forever. Score 3 for the parents.

All-in-all, a highly successful vacation. Our drive back with Zoe was just as successful - she was so good in the car. Next year will be a different story, of course, with a 3-year-old and a six-month-old both in the backseat. But it gives us hope for another generation of annual trips. Besides, now that we have the house down there, I fully intend on weeks-long visits every summer.