My BDay

So yeah I just had a Birthday. The big milestone Birthday at that. You know I have spent enough time mourning my youth over the last few years that it just wasn't that bad. Turning 40 was hideous but this one was not too bad. Mendis must have made the difference for me. He went to great lengths to make this a good one. He does such a good job it's hard to top each year but he does it. I got to get away this year which I love. Anytime I get out of here in the summer is a good time!
So we have been trying to get up to Rexburg for a year to visit Jeff and we finally did it. I got off work at 7pm on Wed so at 7:20 we pulled out. We drove to Pleasant Grove and threw Christina into the car and kept going to SLC. By the time we pulled into the hotel it was 2am which helps explain why I left the credit card at the front desk. We slept through breakfast but hit the Gateway Shopping center for lunch and shopping. I got to pick out anything I wanted for my present but Mendis said it couldn't be clothes or something like that that wouldn't last so I could keep it to remember my birthday so guess where I headed...yup the jewelry store. But you know faced with unlimited choices I had no clue what I wanted. The jeweler suggested a Pandora charm bracelet and I loved it. It is the coolest thing because you can put any charms on it you want so I decided to get one for each of my kids and us that describes us the best. I got the gold heart for Mendis. I got the teapot for Ashley because she loves all things Victorian and having tea (hot choc). Christina chose the apple since she is a teacher. I ordered a kangaroo for Jeff. I ordered a football helmet for Hayden and I ordered a cute piece of luggage complete with travel stickers that represents me. I can't wait until all the charms get here!! There are some cool spacers and a safety chain in there too so it is so fun.

Anyway after we spent money we didn't have we hit the road for Rexburg. We got there just in time to meet Jeff and Rachel at Outback for dinner. Rachel you say?? Yes, Jeff has a girl friend so we got to meet her. She is quite wonderful. She is confident and well on her way. She loves history so Mendis loves her. She lived in Thailand for 11 years so has gotten to see alot of the world. And she' s a very nice girl and we enjoyed meeting her. Besides if she likes Jeff how bad can she be right! After dinner we walked all through campus. Loved the gardens of course:Since I am sure there are one or two of you who haven't facebook stalked Jeff and Rachel yet I threw this picture in that I stole from FB so you can see them. I know that inquiring minds want to know:

So on this garden tour we saw this amazing "shoe garden" that was so unique I threw it in. Pretty fun huh:

We walked the whole campus and even went up to the Temple where we got a kick out of all the couples together in every corner! We just plowed right on through:

Friday after Jeff finished classes we had lunch then went to the Bodies exhibit at the Idaho Falls Museum. We have always wanted to see it and it didn't disappoint. We had a little time to kill so we drove out to see the famous dunes where all the college kids hang out...After we picked up Tori (my niece)we had dinner. Then we went to Walmart to buy some cards and we brought them back to the motel and played cards for a few hours. Here we are showing how relaxed we are between hands...

Well we drove all the way home on Saturday because Hayden had his Patriarchal blessing and Mendis had meetings.It was a great trip! See birthdays can be fun after all.