My birthday celebration...

This is the first time I have really had a big party for my birthday.
And when I say big, I mean BIG!!!

Let's start with listing some of the ways that the celebration was so big:
(1) BIG menu - ribs, chicken, pork chops, steaks, hamburgers, hot dogs, spicy hot links, potato salad, baked beans, pasta salad, chips, drinks, and chocolate chip cookies
(2) BIG guest list - People dropped in all day long starting around 11:00 in the morning! Lamar invited everyone he knew - brothers, sisters, cousins, parents, nieces, nephews, other assorted random relatives, friends, workout buddies, missionaries, the bishop, neighbors, and even the guy who cut up the ribs for us at Giant (seriously).
(3) BIG cake - a chocolate one that said "Happy 30th Birthday - again!" (Gee, thanks babe!)
(4) BIG cook - Lamar stood outside in the ridiculous heat for hours cooking meat on two charcoal grills so that there would be enough food for everyone.

The truth is, even though it was primarily a birthday celebration, it was also an engagement party and a farewell party since Lamar is moving to Tennessee tomorrow. Everyone is going to miss having him in Virginia. I'm lucky he thinks I'm worth moving for!

I wish I had taken more pictures during the day, but I really spent most of my time relaxing, visiting, and eating lots of food. Luckily some of our guests took some...

Here is a cute one of Lamar and his cousin, Moe, on the back deck in front of the grills. If you look closely you can see the BIG silver pot that was literally filled with ribs at the beginning of the day.

Another example of BIG things at my party...
Some of the men in Lamar's family. My new relatives.
Left to right: Stephen (the "little" brother), Lamar (The big brother who is actually the smaller one), Moe (cousin), Joshua (the littlest brother who is actually still little - for now - he's only in fifth grade so far), Anthony (another cousin), and Ramon (a friend from when Lamar was in the Navy).
I feel so small around them!

This picture includes the assorted women and children of the group.

I have to admit that one of the best moments of the day was earlier when we were getting things ready for the barbecue: Lamar said to me, "Woman, know your place!" Then I looked around and realized that of the four people in the house (three men and me) I was the only one NOT doing any cooking or cleaning. Jamar was ironing, Lamar was grilling, and Stephen was doing dishes. I sure love being the birthday girl!