My 30th birthday was very special, as I was surprised by my older sister Sarah and her husband Phil this past weekend with a surprise trip to Chicago!

Sarah and Phil picked up my husband and myself, and my younger sister Emily and her husband Brett early Friday morning, and we drove to Chicago! When we arrived, I got the surprise of a lifetime when we pulled into the Trump Hotel in Chicago! It is a beautiful hotel from the outside, but even more stunning on the inside!

My sisters went in ahead of time and decorated the room with banners, sparkling zevia (a stevia sweetened sparkling drink, so good), and Sprinkles cupcakes!

Sarah ordered the infamous Sprinkles peanut butter cup cupcakes especially for me! This was a very special treat, since I don't eat cupcakes often, much less Sprinkles cupcakes! But hey- on your birthday, everyone can and should enjoy a cupcake! ;)

Our view from the room was simply breathtaking!

Sarah went all out to make sure I felt celebrated and had so much fun!

The weather in Chicago was beautiful! A sunny 80 degrees the whole time we were there! So, we went out to walk around the city and do a little shopping.

For dinner Sarah and Phil took us to a sushi restaurant. I generally don't eat much sushi, but I loved trying new things, and trying some of the sushi rolls! I had a Thai style dish with chicken which was really good!

Chicago is a beautiful city at night as well! We ended up going back to the room and enjoying our cupcakes and opening gifts. It was such a fun day and evening being with my favorite people in one of my favorite cities!

I woke up feeling terribly sick on Saturday, and I ended up feeling so bad that I stayed in the hotel room the entire day, (I'm thinking it may have been food poisoning). I was so disappointed, feeling like I was wasting the day away in bed, but I knew that God would restore the day to me on Sunday, and He sure did! Not only did we receive countless unexpected blessings on Sunday, but I woke up feeling 100% better, the sun was shining when it was supposed to be raining, and it ended up feeling like two days in one! We spent the day enjoying all that Chicago had to offer on Sunday! We woke up and had brunch, and did a little shopping!

We also took a tour by horse drawn carriage around the city! Such a neat experience!

We also went to visit Millenium Park...

And of course went to see the famous bean!

We also did some shopping at some of the unique shops that Chicago has to offer, such as Hershey's store! :) My sisters and I took this picture for a tribute to my dad since it was fathers day! We call my dad 'Mr. Chocolate' because he loves chocolate so much! ;)

And of course if you don't know it yet, I am a huge peanut butter cup fan, so I figured what better way to enjoy Reese's than a cup of coffee in a Reese's mug!?!

Also, how amazing are these 1 lb Reeses cups!?! They would certainly not make you feel amazing, but pretty amazing none the less! ;)

For dinner we went to Grand Lux Cafe, which is owned by the same company as Cheesecake Factory, so it is very similar! I got the Manhattan salad, which was huge, and loaded with veggies, chicken, and tons of wonderful toppings! We finished off the trip with some frozen yogurt (of course), and headed home with full hearts, (and stomachs)! :)

Thank you every for all the sweet birthday wishes, and a special thank you to Sarah and Phil for blessing me beyond belief with this incredible birthday trip that I will never forget!

As far as turning 30, well I am actually really excited about being in my 30's! My 20's were sure a time of pruning, growing, and learning who I was...and boy were there growing pains!!! Not to say that I won't still be learning and growing pains in my 30's, but it sure makes a difference when you are learning from a place of knowing WHO and WHO's you are!!