Birthday Weekend!!!

Today is my birthday!! Birthdays are my second favorite holiday. I just love them so much! I love the idea that every single person has their own special day that they get to celebrate him/herself with friends and family. And guess what?? Today was mine!! I've been waiting all year for my special day, and it finally came! :D

Saturday 2.25.12

Saturday was a great day!!!

First of all, I got to go to lunch at the Creamery with my wonderful friend Katie Devenport. I love her! It was really great to spend some time with her. Her family got sealed in the temple on Saturday morning!! :D

When I got back, I studied for a while so that I could go take my stats test. However, I didn't realize that the Testing Center closes at 4 on Saturdays, and I was too late :( Good thing I can take it on Monday!

Not taking the test was actually a blessing, because it meant that I could go kite flying with my best friend Austin! That was seriously SO much fun. I haven't flown a kite since elementary school! Thank you, Austin, for such a wonderful afternoon :)

Spiderman and Barbie

We even tried flying them out of the car as we drove! :P

After kite flying, I got ready and my friends took me out to eat at Brick Oven :) I love them so much! Sweet Lauren payed for my dinner, and I had such a great time eating dinner with some of my greatest friends :)

Hattie, Haley, and Lauren 

Austin, Andy, and Jeff

BFFs!

They made me stand on my chair when they sang to me...

THEN, that night I went to Lowes Xtreme Air Sports with some of my friends (you may remember my sweet moves video from my Presidents' Day post), and we had a great time! Unfortunately, this time I didn't get any pictures or videos :( BUT, I learned a new trick again! This time I learned how to do a cool trick where you jump on the trampoline, kick against the wall, and do a back flip off of the wall. They didn't look very pretty, but I did it!!! It took me a few tries and a lot of encouragement, but I did it three times :D Next time I go, I'll be sure to video tape myself doing it so that you all can see :)

And last but not least, I came back home to THIS:

Thank you SO much, Brooke and Lauren!!!

And that was just about one of the best days ever. Wahooooooo!!

Sunday 2.26.12-- MY BIRTHDAY!!

It's my birthday! I woke up feeling like a new, totally different person!!

Okay, obviously that's a lie. But what I did feel was sore from Lowes. Ouch :(

First of all, look at these special cards I got today from some of my wonderful friends and family:

Church was fantastic today. Brooke and Taylor gave awesome talks, and it was refreshing to hear the testimonies of 6 soon-to-be missionaries in the ward. Lauren never fails to give a spiritually uplifting lesson (this time about the Atonment-- LOVE!), and Kim gave a fantastic RS lesson about choosing to be on the Lord's side and following the commandments. Taylor told a really cool story that I want to share with all of you because... well... it's cool.

"There was once an Indian man who told his grandson this: 'There are two wolves living inside of you right now. One is a wolf made up of envy, pessimism, selfishness, etc. The other is a wolf of happiness, humility, optimism, charity, etc. They are constantly in battle one with another inside of you.' The young boy thought for a minute, then asked his grandfather, 'Well, which one wins grandpa?' The wise old man responded, 'The one you feed.'"

So yeah, church was awesome.

After church, I ate lunch with some of my friends. Too bad the CANC didn't have great food today... Oh well. Here are some pictures from lunch:

YES! Thank you, Austin, for making lunch so much better by letting me take this picture of you :D

Lauren's sister Megan came to visit us this week. Wahoo!

I drank 4 glasses! Right on! 

After lunch, I took a nice long nap :) Then I went to Tom's apartment for dinner with Austin and a bunch of Tom's friends. Sadly, I didn't get any pictures there. But Tom brought me some flowers for my birthday! I love him so much!

My good friend Kaley also brought me some flowers today. She is a great friend!

I had a wonderful time at Tom's (as I always do). I love spending time with him. I just love my family!

After dinner, Will came over with his brother Tyler and they brought me a cake! My favorite kind-- funfetti cake with funfetti icing :) Yum! Thanks guys! (And Haley too, for making it with Will!) And in case you're wondering, they were going to write, "Happy Birthday," but the icing exploded so they made it into an eye for a smilie face haha!

And to end the night, I got to skype with my parents and little brother :) I love them so so much!

I have received so many gifts, cards, and love from all of my friends and family today. I am so blessed to have such amazing people in my life. Today was a great day for reflecting on how wonderful my life is and how much I have to be grateful for. Thank you to everyone who made my special day such a great success! :)