SK Turns THIRTY!

SK Turns THIRTY!!!

Bringing in my 30th year was a DREAM! We spent the week in Asheville, NC. We absolutely love Asheville. I’ve spent several birthdays here and it’s where we eloped! When we knew we’d be in NC the week of my birthday, I knew exactly where I wanted to spend it!

On Monday, we went to the Grey Eagle to watch the Knotty G’s play a John Prine cover show. We first heard the Knotty G’s at Bonnaroo back in June. We were excited to see they were playing the John Prine cover, because we love John Prine! We convinced TC’s aunts to meet us for the show. It was such a fun time! At the very end of the show, the band gave out kazoos for the encore song. We quickly realized how FUN kazoos are!! We still carry our kazoos everywhere, just in case we need them. We also have them all over the van for emergencies! We were so glad Aunt Donna & Aunt Elizabeth drove all the way to Asheville to hang with us. It was the best way to start birthday week!

On Tuesday, we had another fun visit! My MooMoo, Daddy, and Grandma Ann drove to Asheville to eat dinner with us! We’d seen them for a little while over the weekend in Raleigh to celebrate our nephew’s birthday. At the last minute, T called them to see if they’d be willing to drive to Asheville to celebrate my birthday. It was so, so special!! MooMoo showed up with the birthday balloons- as she always does! The restaurant we chose had music bingo. It was fun to play with the whole fam! I felt so loved and celebrated after spending the evening with my favs!

By Wednesday, we were exhausted from the wedding we'd worked over the weekend and our first few nights of birthday week. Since I got to choose whatever I wanted to do for the week, I chose a movie night for Wednesday!! We ate popcorn and M&Ms and watched Hocus Pocus 2 on the projector. It was a wild night in the Walmart parking lot!

Thursday was the start of the absolute BEST birthday weekend!! The boys were coming to Asheville to celebrate with me!! For TC’s 30th, we went to Savannah. For Joey’s 30th, we all celebrated in Raleigh. For my 30th, we went to Asheville! (Stay tuned for this September on where we end up for Andy’s 30th!!) We rented the coolest old house, on the most gorgeous plot of land. It was the perfect mountain spot! The first thing T did was get some flowers and hang up the birthday banner-essential to a Cleary birthday party!

Andy and Joey made it to the house just in time for us all to go to a concert! Daniel Donato was opening for The Kitchen Dwellers at The Salvage Station. It was a really cool venue!

Joey had to work the next morning in Charlotte. He arranged his work schedule on Thursday and Friday to be able to make it to as much of the weekend as possible.

I started my birthday with chocolate chip/sprinkle pancakes with candles and a party hat! Birthday traditions are my favorite, and T is so good at fulfilling them! After breakfast I enjoyed a slow morning of hot coffee in a mug on the porch. I’ve mentioned before how much I miss hot coffee in a mug in the mornings. It was a gorgeous morning in A-Ville. It could not have been a more perfect start to the day!

After breakfast, T, Andy and I went for a hike off the Blue Ridge Parkway. The leaves were turning and the sun was shining. There was no better place to be than in the woods! After about five miles, we had some errands to run. We wanted the boys to also have kazoos for the weekend, so we stopped by and picked some up at the store. We also had to go pick up my cookie cake!! Typically, we have Key Lime Pie for our birthdays, but this year I decided I wanted cookie cake. It was SO GOOD! It has been years since I have had one, and I was so stoked! T told them to use lots of colors, especially orange and yellow and put EXTRA sprinkles. Perfect! Perfect! Perfect!!

On Saturday, we went to an escape room! I love escape rooms! The boys weren’t keen on the idea, but I knew they wouldn’t say ‘no’ on my birthday weekend. We had the best time! They actually enjoyed it! Breakout Asheville was really well done! I have done a couple that weren’t very fun, so I was glad Breakout did it right. We got out in 54:51. Whoohoo! This may be a new birthday tradition for me. We headed to New Belgium and played a couple rounds of cards. We were all exhausted from staying up too late the night before, hanging out around the fire. We decided to find a spot in the park to take a nap. We all felt much more rested after. For our Saturday night fun, we found a $5 silent disco!! Silent Discos are my new found favorite activity, and this one did not disappoint! Such a blast!

Sunday morning, T had planned the BIGGEST SURPRISE! I’d invited my childhood bestie, Lindsey, to Asheville for the weekend, but she had to work. We were both bummed, but I didn’t really think anything of it. I walked into breakfast on Sunday morning and THERE SHE WAS!! Her and her husband had driven up from Charlotte just to have brunch with us. I could not stop smiling! She is such a blessing in my life, and I was so glad to see her!

The Sunday before, I texted her at the very last minute to ask if she wanted to go to dinner because we were passing through Charlotte and I didn’t know when I would see her again. Obviously her and T had been plotting for weeks about seeing each other in Asheville, but they didn’t want to make me suspicious. I was able to see her twice in a week! What a dream!

I felt so incredibly blessed during my entire birthday week! So many people made me feel so loved! I could not have asked for a better way to bring in 30! Cheers to the next decade! I am hopeful it will bring amazing memories, and new places, and lots of growth!