53 backwards

Yup, that's right. I have officially reached the age of 53 backwards. 35, that is. But since 53 is my favorite number and 35 sounds super old, I prefer to be 53 backwards this year.
Anyway, I had a great birthday week--full of food, fam, friends, and fun.

A few days before my birthday, I went out with some great friends from my childhood:

I'm pretty sure this is how I normally look. Candace too. Emily always looks good.

Much better. I think the food at Archibald's made Candace punchy. :)

On my actual birthday, I got the best birthday present ever. I got to spend the entire day with this sweetie pie:

Isn't she the best? I might have gotten emotional a couple of times, thinking of how grateful I was to spend my birthday with her.

And Hannah gave me another great birthday present. She ate solids for the first time in almost 3 days. Poor baby was on the tail end of another nasty stomach flu.

That night Hannah and I were joined by Scott and good friends Carla and Melissa for some delicious Thai food.

And Carla even provided yummy cupcakes! And a candle!

This weekend topped off my birthday week:

I went out for all-you-can-eat sushi with Jen and Jana..

...and Scott...

...and this weirdy. It was yummy, but I learned a very important lesson. Don't ever eat all-you-can-eat sushi right before you need to be social or even function as a human being.

I spent the first half of my karaoke birthday party in my room trying not to explode and the 2nd half apparently looking like a zombie. Too bad I was too out of it to take pics of anyone else there. I did end up having lots of fun though.

The next day, I fortunately felt well enough to go out to eat at La Casita to celebrate all the November birthdays in my family:

Silly Hannah with her aunt, uncle, and cousins in the background.

The rest of us (minus Scott, the photographer).

Bonus pic:

We had another party today to celebrate my twin nephews' 9th birthday. What a couple of cuties!

Here's hoping this next year is as fabulous as the last!