another year to celebrate...

i know i am so behind on this. almost a month. but i had a fabulous birthday. one of the best. as much as i freak out about getting older, every year seems to just get more intense, more exciting more at peace, more involved each year. i know that what i just said contradicts so much but its the best way i can describe growing old into adulthood. and the time goes by so quickly. i remember being in grade school thinking, "when am i ever going to be a grown up?" i would try to imagine what i was going to grow up to become. what i would look like. where i would live. would i be a famous astronaut or a life-altering (pun intended) geneticist? and now to be that adult and have my life turn out so completely different but so much better than ever imagined....its a time of reflection.

having a birthday on a holiday weekend proves to be very lucrative for the birthdayee. thursday night, two days before the birthday, my coworkers took me out karaoking in ogden. the karaoke bar is connected to a dance club and it was fun to watch people play american idol and then go dance the night away. i've made some good friends here at my job in utah and i'm grateful for their friendship. it was fun way to start the festivities.

the next day was the fourth of july and i went home and spent the majority of the day with my folks. mom had a picnic prepared for us and the grandparents and we had hamburgers off the grill while i got to open gift cards and the fifth season of the west wing. yeah. only two more seasons to go!

i met up with laurann that night to go and see the fireworks in bountiful where i was pretty impressed with their show. it was about 20 minutes long completely choreographed to old classics like "Coming to America" by Neil Diamond and "God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood. i have to admit i had a glimmer of a tear in the left corner of my right eye. i spent the night at laurann's place in bountiful so we could go hiking in the morning behind her house. i wanted to see the sunrise but i got up at 6:00 am which was an hour too late. but the hike was still amazing and a great way to start your birthday. she took me out to breakfast after and then i went to the gym to feel even better about myself.

i went to the gateway shopping center to browse through the stores but ended up being on the phone most of the time talking with old friends who had called to wish me a happy birthday. that was much better than any shopping trip.


i raced home to get in the shower and get ready for lunch where i met the christofferson including hello kitty to celebrate our birthdays together! the christofferson clan was in town for their annual family reunion and it was great to see uncle t, danger and jill, and of course hello kitty and her hubbie kevin. ben the dem and julie joined us along with my dear friend dallas. we had a yummy lunch of chicken mole enchiladas at the red iguana.

we had to work off our yummy lunch by doine some more shopping, findiing some jeans for danger and hello kitty and me being a new pair of shoes - pink cheetah print ballet flats. we took danger and jill to the airport and then headed back to draper to meet up with uncle t and visit grandma and grandpa chrisofferson. apparently i was so enraptured in my birthday high that i didn't see the cop down the street clocking me. so i ended up getting a speeding ticket on my birthday - the first one in over 10 years. the last time i got a speeding ticket, the night i attended traffic school, the utah jazz was in the final playoffs with the chicago bulls and we lost horribly. i always attributed that lost to be me not being able to watch the game and cheer the jazz to victory. the cop was pretty nice and lowered the 19 i was going over to 5. i told him it was my birthday and i'm sure that tugged at his birthday heart strings and that's why i got a lowered ticket. i finally arrived at the christoffersons a bit slower and humbled a few minutes later. it was great to see uncle t's element, taking care of the folks and spending some more time with hello kitty.

the night ended with me and dall catching up at his loft apartment. we were suppose to go dancing at the W but we were both too tired and we ended up talking stories and diatribing on humanity and how we need it even more than ever in today's world. all in all, it was the best three days of celebrating a birthday and i look forward to this new year of my life as a thirtysomething woman in the great city of SLC.