Chase’s 30th birthday!
Chase T. is 30!!
I think thirty is such a big milestone and fun to celebrate – it’s not too old,
but definitely feels like a transition into adulthood (even though we are still 21
in my mind forever!) Luckily life has really gotten better with Chase, and he ages
better than anyone I know..so 30 was a celebration, and not anything to be sad about :) Of course, I showered him with presents because 30 is a big birthday, but buying a gift for a man who says he already has everything he needs is surprisingly hard! For those of you who also struggle to buy birthday gifts for men, I recommend something personalized and meaningful. It doesn’t have to be massive or expensive! Just something that they will cherish. They’ll appreciate it even more if it’s a comical gift, men laugh a good laugh. For example, you could get some Sokken met foto bedrukken which are custom photo socks in Dutch! I bet he’d love them, my Chase definitely would!
I’d been planning a fun party for him since we realized it would line up that we would
be in Utah over his birthday. We stayed up in Park City with Chase’s family the night
before and it was so fun to wake up and swim + have breakfast at the hotel all together.
We had a fun day and then that night I planned a party with lots of our Utah friends!
Chase didn’t want anything too over the top, so we kept it simple with a fun backyard
barbecue at my parents house. So, I gathered the required essentials such as the tools for grilling (spatula, tongs, grill fork, and so on), bulk charcoal (to make sure we don’t run out of it), and some cold beverages. I themed the party all Southern food with all the yummy sides
and desserts, which was a hit! We set up lots of backyard games and mostly just had
so much fun celebrating and catching up with our good college friends. It didn’t take me too long to decide on what games to play, I knew I had to get good equipment for everyone to use, balls, nets, bats, I wanted to get a Wiffle ball bat instead of a baseball bat, and like all wiffle ball bats it needed to be damn good and to be able to hit deep, I wanted Chase to run far and wide for that ball! People stayed
until almost 2 AM that night chatting and telling stories, always a sign of a good time!
We missed some friends who were out of town / and others from the Bay, but had a fun
turnout and got to celebrate with Utah friends as well as some CA friends who live here now!
Invites I sent out before (with address taken out, which is why the bottom looks weird :)
Morning trail run in Park City with the birthday boy!
I woke Chase up at the hotel with this list of 30 reasons I love him,
and then we swam and had breakfast with his whole fam!
Birthday breakfast crew ^^ followed by…
Birthday morning swim party!
The MEAT was started at 8 AM and smoked on the Traeger for 10 hours
thanks to my amazing dad! It turned out so unreal – just followed this recipe
on Traeger and shredded it to serve with good barbecue sauce on the side.
Peach cobbler + nana pudding prep! ^^
In between the food and party prep I had this guy open different gifts…
lots of new clothes, gift cards to movies and favorite restaurants, a new
bike upgrade that he’ll be picking out, AND what I loved most … a 40-minute
long video of tributes from friends and family all over. I had people send in videos
the past month and compiled everything here. It was so sweet to see him watch,
and yes he teared up (mainly at Reagan’s part! :) Also laughed so hard he cried too!
It took some effort but was the best kind of gift on a milestone birthday like this one.
It was so fun to do a little bit different menu than a hot dog / hamburger barbecue,
and make it Southern for my Southern born boy who also served 2 years in Alabama.
This food is the way to his heart (and everyone else’s once they have it :) and it was a hit since
it’s not as common of a menu in the west. Still full and happy from this food! I had to
write it all out and do lots ahead of time to stay organized, but it turned out so good.
Cornbread, pecan white choc bread, and the classic wonder bread like they serve in the south!
Chase’s cute mom who helped me pull so many last things together …as always!
And my mom (parents) were so amazing letting us host it at their perfect party house and doing so much.
I want this plate again right now ^^ We also loaded up on key lime flavored La Croix drinks, Chase’s favorite.
Trav & Lil! ^^
LOVE our Anna & Rand so much ^^
So many people who love Chase, and who we love!
Cute birthday boy before we sang to him!
Reagan probably sang the loudest of anyone during Happy Birthday, and of course helped blow out the candles!
Birthday volleyball games begin, along with pickle ball + frisbee golf ^^
Girls know where to hang out — by the dessert!
This crew stayed up chatting until almost 2 AM that night, telling old stories and catching up.
Always entertaining with these high school/ college buds!
Birthday celebrations continued the next day on Sunday at family dinner at Chase’s house..
we celebrated Chase with an amazing steak dinner + pear cake, and also Reagan and her cousin
Gracie’s birthday coming up. It was such a fun night full of the best food, company and celebrating!
We all love our Chase T. Rigby.
So fun to celebrate this guy, and watch him begin his 30s!
Can’t wait to see what this next decade brings ?
XOXO