Thanks for the great party ideas! There are 2 ideas in particular that inspired me. The first, was the Austin Powers theme. I decided to celebrate the big 4-0 by going back to my birth year of 1968 and having a 60s party. Proper attire required and there WILL be dancing (even if I'm the only one).
The second idea is based on an African tradition that says you can't celebrate your birthday unless you accomplished something that year, so Andrew will be asking folks to write down one accomplishment of mine that they would like to recognize. We'll take pictures of me with each person and create a photo book with the people's words under our picture.
So, thanks for the great ideas (and hope to see you at the party)!
Rebecca