My birthday and other adventures...

So I turned 30.

Overall...it was a good experience.

I'll confess, I had a bit of a meltdown the Sunday before. I panicked and couldn't imagine myself as 30. I mean...that's supposed to be OLD, right? I felt like I hadn't accomplished near enough with my life. I did stop and think about all the adventures I've had and I did have to admit things didn't look as bleak as I'd first though. Anyway...I've decided that birthdays are a lot easier to handle when you have them outside the country. So... I'm planning my next birthday trip as we speak.

I have decided though that my 20's were pretty awesome, so my 30's should be even better. So here we go....

I did have a good birthday. I flew out to sunny California to see the beaches, play at Disneyland, and do whatever the heck I wanted. I went with two friends to help celebrate and we had a great time.

Here's a few pictures to give you an idea of the fun that was had. I'll be be posting more in the next few days.

Newport Beach Pier

Cool silhouette of people on the Newport Beach Pier

Newport Beach LDS temple. Beautiful! Inside and out.

My parents and brothers made this 4 layer cake for my birthday. Brothers went all crazy with the candles. It's a bit of a tradition in my family to do something unique and creative with the candles. If my one brother had been around, you would see something being burnt at the stake.

More pictures to follow...I have a ton from Disneyland where I acted like I was 12 years old.
Twas awesome!

Rowe snapshot

Ok..so I'm posting this mostly for family. We all just need to get our Rowe - kicks every once in awhile. And I don't know about them, but I've been going through Rowe withdrawals. I can't believe how grown up he's getting! He's not a baby anymore. He's a little man!

October - Gone already

I cannot believe October is gone. Craziness. Life has become a whirlwind lately. Here are a few highlights.

I ran my first race ever. It was a 6K through the gardens at a place called Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah. It was AWESOME! I'm already looking for my next race.

I made homemade granola for the first time and it was wonderful! It was pumpkin granola and it was the perfect thing for this time of year. I found the recipe from a blog called, "Two Peas and Their Pod." Check it out here. It's one of my new favorites!


Got to go trick or treating with my little nephew, Rowe. We only went to a few houses in the neighborhood, but one of the houses was that of my mission president and his wife. My brother just happens to live in their ward. Lucky them! So we got to stop by and visit for a few minutes. It was fun way to spend Halloween for sure. I will post pictures of Rowe in his little dragon costume as soon as I can snag them from my brother. :)