Birthdays

We celebrated 25 only 12 days apart.

Beautiful little Rad- He's still that same kid inside

Rad's Birthday was: Simple yet Enjoyable.

New Suit & Tie.

Xbox game, ipod arm band.


BBQ with high school pals.

Cake complete with 25 candles.

Jess' was: Extravagant & Nostalgic.

Little me- From 5 to 25 in the blink of an eye

It was my graduation trip slash bday present. It's been five years since I'd been home for my birthday. A lot has changed since then. Finally ready to re-live that day.

My 20th birthday- I knew this would be my last with her. We spent every moment together that day. One month later, we said our goodbyes.

Missing her, but found him.

San Diego. The temple was amazing- we had it pretty much to ourselves!

Family. We had a family party for all the may bdays, but I'm pretending it was all for me!

New shoes x2. (Rad is really good at shopping even though he hates it!)

New purse x2.

Thanks to My bro Shane & sis-in-law Josie, and of course their kids (Arick, Amie, Emily, Adam, Aaron, Ethan, Isaac & Evan.. Did I get everyone??????) for my rainbow purse. I have gotten TONS of compliments on it! Rad lovingly calls it my beach bag!

Old Town- Birthplace of San Diego, Founded by the Mormon battalion: complete with street performers and fresh salt water taffy

Disneyland (Of course free for the birthday girl!) with my sweetheart.. and churos.

Chels, I know what you are thinking- and yes you WERE closing your eyes in this picture. Thankfully I was able to use photoshop to take part of Mickey's ear and reconstruct your face.

Here's us... and chels & shawn (aka the twins)

The creepiest cruise around the world.

The most lifelike, talking, dancing, running, soccer playing robot in the world.

Altogether, 'twas a perfect day. No crowds or lines, perfectly cool sunshine, got to wear an awesome pin and was told happy birthday at least 100 times.

Magical.

My Current Ailment

Oh yeah, that's why I loathe spring-- It's allergy season! I took one of those tests last year where they prick your arm 60 times and inject everything imaginable and I found out that I am allergic to cedar as well as Kentucky blue grass and Elm. Here they are:


These beauties which all reside in the same valley as I, can go under the category of "Green Things I HATE!!" But in all fairness, it's actually my bodies fault, not the plants. See, the pollen floats in the air and goes up my nose. My body, however, mistakes these types of pollen as foreign invaders trying to make me sick, and it attacks them. My white blood cells start producing an army of black belt fighters and my blasophils create a bunch of inflammation and release histamines which makes me itch like crazy. The war going on inside me makes me feel terrible and it takes all my energy. If my nose only knew that all the fuss was over some harmless air particles!

But here's the current issue I'm facing this week-- Is it a cold or allergies?

• I feel terrible and look deathly
  
• Runny itchy nose
• Itchy eyes
• Sore throat and guck back there
• Congested
  
• All the sleep in the world isn't helping
• My verdict- It's probably a combo of both, but I really can't tell. I feel this way every spring.
  

One thing I'll never understand though is why my outdoor seasonal allergies feel better when I go outside. The allergists I've seen all think I'm crazy. But every year I notice that walking around and enjoying the pollen-y breeze sort of alleviates the symptoms. It could just be a temporary fix, only to come down on me later with 10 times the wrath. But it's such a gorgeous day, so I think I'll go lie outside. If only I had a good book.

But on a more positive note- I've been keeping myself busy in other ways besides feeling sorry for myself. It was my day off yesterday and I made my lovely sister-in-law Taralyn a birthday cake for her sweet 16. Promise I didn't sneeze in it!


Thank you to Channing for being my friend and mentor, and teaching me what a crumb coat is, so I can make beautiful treats such as this. I still need to work on my scrolls a bit more though!

My sweet 16th birthday cake was my sister Elissa's wedding cake from the night before. It's true- Everyone forgot my birthday. Does the movie 16 candles ring a bell? Thanks Lis.
The next week mom gave me this:

I hope someday my daughters will wear it and cherish it like I did.

The green month isn't over yet though folks, so I will post another one of my favorite green things.

Favorite green thing today: My place settings/napkins. They wash nicely too, which I promise is important.

And I almost forgot...

Reflection of the day: Beautiful flower in San Diego