A big day

Yesterday was a big day. A very big day. And this is the only picture I have of the whole day:
Yesterday was the first day of school for Nate. The first day of first grade. It's a magical day with all of those "firsts" in it. We were a little worried come Saturday when Hurricane Irene was making its way up the East coast, and there were worries about the power going out. What if there was no power at the school on Monday. Or horror of all horrors, what if there was no power at the school on Monday, and they couldn't get it up for the rest of the week. (There are other counties in the area that are experiencing that right now!) What if we used up all of our snow days in the first week of school? But mostly, what in the world was I going to do if I couldn't send Nate to school on Monday? (Insert comment here about how I love my children dearly, but the constant fighting of the past few weeks is sending me over the edge.)
However, due to a lucky stroke, we not only survived the Earthquake last week without any damage, but we also got through the earthquake without so much as a power flicker. So Nate started school on Monday. And how happy we all were.
Now, starting school was not the only thing that made this a big day for us. After Nate went off to school Graham was invited to a party at our local Pump it Up. Graham called it the funnest place on earth. Olivia would agree if she could talk.
So those are some pretty big things, but wait! there's more!!!! Not only did those things happen, but as it turns out, it was also my birthday! The big 31. And I'll say that 31 sounds a lot older than 30. Thirty was a new adventure, a sign that I wasn't a kid anymore. But 31, well, now I'm just in my 30s. Oh well.
It was a great birthday. Jesse went into work early to get things back up and running after being shut down in prep for the hurricane, so he got home really early as well. He was home in time to get Nate off of the school bus. Then we went out for an early dinner (apparently, 31 is the age when you start eating dinner before 5:00.) Then we went out to Borders and Barnes and Noble to pick up a few presents that Jesse had not had a chance to get.
I ended the night with my good friends Colleen and Jana (written in alphabetical order.) We enjoy going to Glory Days grill after 9pm when appetizers are only $5. We're cheap. So yeah, good birthday for me. Nate went to school, Graham had a fun party to go to, and I got to have fun with family and friends.