Birthday!

I turned 28 this year on September 20 and had the most amazing birthday I can remember.

The celebration began Friday September 19 on my way home from a work meeting in Birmingham, Alabama. I had a layover in Denver for six hours, so my old roommates Heather (Piggy) and Jenn came to get me and take me to Jenn’s new home to spend time with them and their five (!) children for a few hours. I love these girls and it has been years since I’ve seen Piggy (only one since I last saw my redhead).

I returned home thinking I needed to run to the gym, then home to go out with a dear friend. I immediately knew someone had been in my house – things in the trash that I hadn’t put there, vacuum lines gone, empty milk jug, more toilet paper gone, cat toys moved, comforter fluffed – it was all odd. My friend then told me he had gotten a key from my sis in Ohio and hid something in the apartment on her behalf. He’s a good pal, so I thought he’d just made himself at home while there.

When he came over to take me out, he had me looking for whatever it was he had hidden when my doorbell rang. As he ran to get the door, I was hot on his heels and yelled, “Is it my sister?” I was totally joking, but when we opened the door, there was a HUGE box on the porch. A little tug, and out popped my sister from Ohio!

She, I, and B2 all had a girls night eating "The Pie" pizza, wearing face masks, eating Leatherby’s ice cream cake (not recommended – blagh), watching “Baby Mama,” and chatting. We dragged my queen sized, 24-inch tall air mattress into the living room and all three crashed. Conor even joined in on the slumber party madness. When we woke up Saturday morning, we just sat there and talked until about noon or so, when I went to the gym for my traditional 5-mile birthday run (under 49 minutes, thank you thank you)and their traditional salad buffet run.

Later in the day Michelle and Em came up, Kelly was over, Brit was there, and we just baked treats for the night-time party while chatting and having a grande ole time.

I had a combined birthday party with Julie-Ann and Jake in my ward – two very loved people –hosted by another very loved friend, Megan, and her roommates – shout out to Julie, Melissa, and Erin. I had lots of friends new and old come have fun with us.

The celebration will continue when I go to Chicago for work and my parents meet me there – they bought us all tickets to see “Wicked!” I’ve seen it twice before in NYC (original cast!), however, it is a cute show. They also bought me an amazing shiatsu massage chair (*singing* heaven, I’m in heaven…), which I have been forbidden to let anyone but myself use b/c I have had two get broken.

Perhaps all of these things don’t sound like a “best ever,” but the “best” part comes into play in that I felt so much love. All walks of my life collided on that weekend in a way they never have before. So many of my friends and family went, and are going, greatly out of their ways to let me know how much they care for me.

There is nothing like the feeling of being genuinely loved!!!