I'm Old

This one is very late too, but I am trying...
So for my birthday, I decided to go down to St George with my ward and I really wanted to spend my birthday on a hike up the narrows.
I think I had such an awesome birthday. I woke up early and went for a run and the weather was so perfect! It was warm, but overcast. It was awesome. We headed out for the narrows at about 11 and didn't get on the actual hike until 2. There was a huge line to get into the park. But it made for some wicked good pictures.



I just love this place. There is something about that deep red rock and the green trees that just make me so happy. It was amazing and I'm so glad I got to go here on my birthday!
When we got back to St George, I played some "Kill" with my friends. This is my favorite game lately. We use a footbag and everyone stands in a circle. You have to hit the bag between 3 people and it has to be hit 5 times without touching the ground. After the fifth hit, anyone can make a grab for the sac and throw it at the closest person. I don't know what it is about this game that I love, but I think it's because it reminds me of games I used to play with my brother when I was young. "Butt Ball" was a really fun, but painful game. It was only painful when I was the one that had to go up to the wall, but it was still fun.
So after showering and getting ready, we took a little drive out to Tuacahn to see Les Mis. It was a really good play, but I have this difficulty lately with staying awake through anything when I sit down. Towards the end, I ACTUALLY fell asleep and missed a lot of it. Luckily, my friend Jon explained a lot of things to me about what was going on during the play and woke me up at the end so I could see the last song. I realized that I actually did know some of the songs and I'm really glad I didn't miss the last song. It was the best part!
We ended up leaving St George that night at 1 in the morning and I made it to Lindon at 5 in the morning. I was so exhausted and didn't even get ready at all. My whole family came to the house and we had dinner and the coolest cake ever! (Thanks Jen!!!) It was my sister-in-law's responsibility to order the cake for the birthday dinner because my family was out in Florida and didn't get back until about 5 hours before I got in. She ordered the cake over the internet and it was really cute on the internet with colored polka dots around it. Well when Jen picked it up, it was pretty hilarious. They made the polka dots with really bold colors and as my brother Chris put it, it looked like a "tropical bird took a crap on it". Haha! It really did, but I loved the cake! We got some good pictures and some great laughs. I am not sure who has those pics though.
My grandma gave me some beautiful ruby and diamond earrings that make me feel grown up. I guess 25 is the year for this kind of thing because when I went out to dinner with my grandparents in Salt Lake later that week, my grandma gave me her ruby ring. This ring was given to my grandma from my grandpa after they were married. I still remember that ring from when I was little, it was my favorite ring ever when I was young because my favorite color is purple and I loved how it sparkled. I feel so special that I could have this ring and I am so glad I have memories of the ring that I get to wear.
One other birthday present was one I gave to myself. I FINALLY finished my quilt after MANY hours and days laboring over the thing. I originally bought the fabric last August, started cutting the fabric in November, started sewing it in January and finished it in July. Now THAT is some dedication. I almost just quit sewing it, cut my losses, and went out to buy an already manufactured duvet. I spent over $500 on this thing mainly because I was never satisfied with the patterns I picked out on the quilt and the other part because the fabric cost me anywhere from $10-$15 a yard.
Anyway, here's the duvet. Oh, and I would like to thank Melanie's mom for the help in the end and for answering my crazy dumb questions, my mama for answering my questions too and for the sewing machine - couldn't have finished without it!, the lady at Pipers Quilts for the advice, the other lady at Pipers for the assurance that I really was doing it right, Melanie for putting up with the mess in the room and helping with the fabric, (oh, and assuring me that I was pretty crazy every time I brought in a new fabric! Haha!), and my no thanks goes out to Joann's - for never having anything in stock and being extremely unhelpful.


I wish I had logged how many hours I spent, but I can assure that it was more than 100 hours. I could have another Womanhood Recognition with those kind of hours. I'm just glad it's done and I can focus my time, money and energy on getting the rest of the house in order. I still have a few things I want to do with my room, but I don't want any more projects for the next few months!