twenty, you are not welcomed with open arms,
but you make a pretty good grand entrance.
i started off with my yearly tradition i have with my mother of going shopping and spending all of my birthday money. let me tell you, it's the best. my parents and i then went out for my birthday dinner at cracker barrel. (who knew that place was so delicious?? my parents dragged me kicking and screaming last year and now i think that it's the best.)
one of my really good friends, jared, had his birthday three days before mine. to celebrate both of our birthdays we went to skate city. (the obvious choice for people's birthdays when they are turning 20 and 22). while we were skating (and avoiding nasty middle schoolers taking an over-abundance of selfies) our fried codi went up to the dj station to request a song. little did we know, he was telling the dj it was our birthday. five minutes later the lights came on and everyone had to get off of the rink except for jared and i, who had to stand in the middle of the rink as happy birthday was sang to us. probably one of the best/worst moments of my (and i'm sure jared's) life. thanks nicolette and codi, you sneaky devils. (nicolette also gave me two giant bags of gummies- so all was forgiven (and eaten)).
lastly, i had a package that had come all the way from belgium just for my birthday for me. i had strict instructions not to open it until my birthday, so naturally i stayed up until midnight until it was officially my birthday and tore into my envelope. what was inside, you ask? oh, you know, just a journal that a certain missionary had been writing to me EVERY day for 6 months in. i may have just sat there and cried before even opening the journal and starting to read. i then opened the journal and read until i fell asleep with the journal on top of my face. (i'm really classy, i'm aware.) it was the greatest of all birthday presents you could get. i laughed out loud at his crazy adventures and cried (and cried and cried) when he had a hard day. i felt more loved than i have in a long time and it was just what i needed to get through these last two (!!!!!) months of having my best friend gone.
i finished off my birthday watching general conference (soooo good! amiright??) with my parents, eating a lot of frozen yogurt cake and skyping my lovely siblings in utah. it was a delightful day to welcome me into the geriatric age group. (how old do you have to be to get the senior discount at stores and restaurants?)
in other news, if there was ever a shirt that described me:
