23 birthdays.....

I've had some amazing birthdays! But I really must admit that I feel like this year's was one of the best!! It was an insanely busy day!

I usually spend my birthdays with my parents! They are always fabulous!! My 21st birthday my parents took Maggie and I to The Roof for dinner and then we walked around Temple Square. It was really fun! And I'm so glad Maggie came with us! Last year, for my 22nd birthday, my parents and I went to Asian Star for dinner and then to see The Blind Side! We LOVED the movie! And dinner was delicious, as always!!

This year.... was different. I knew it would be. My parents' ward had their Christmas party the night of my birthday. The parents were in charge of a lot of the food. So they had to attend it. I worked on my birthday this year (I know, weird for me, but I thought it was time to act like a grown-up). So I got up early so I could shower and get ready before I had to go in. My parents were just getting ready to leave for work so I got to see them for about 5 minutes at 7 a.m. I went in and worked until 3 p.m. But during work I had some really cute deliveries! Abby brought up balloons to tie on to my computer. And Misty, Greg, and Tasha brought me in MORE balloons! All the patrons asked who was having the birthday and I got millions of birthday wishes from complete strangers! It was embarrassing, but very sweet of everyone to think of me!! After work I went over to the Blackhurst's home and made a banner for the missionary! After I finished that I went to dinner with Kade, Tara, Mia, Kristen, and Abby! We went to The Olive Garden and it was very tasty!! (Thanks, Abby, for paying for my dinner!) After dinner, Abby and I ran to Old Navy and bought me a new sweater! (I had forgotten to pack extra clothes to change into after work, so I was in a shirt from The Dell and I looked gross and homeless!!!) After the Old Navy trip we went to Kade and Tara's to hang out and we watched "17 Again".  As soon as it was over I had to head back over to the Blackhurst's house so we could head to the airport and pick up Zach!!! Zach was supposed to land at 10:37 p.m., but his flight had been delayed until 11:13! Poor Elaine! The wait almost killed her! Zach FINALLY got off the plane and we all got HUGE hugs! I'm not really family, so I stood in the back and let his family hug him and celebrate... but then he spotted me! He looked at me and said, "BRINDI!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!" And gave me the biggest and best hug I've gotten in a long time!! (Like Wa-wa... oh how I have missed those hugs, Little Brother!) I couldn't believe he remembered it was my birthday! I told Zach he was the best birthday present ever! We went back to the house and hung out for another two hours! It was so nice to visit with him! I have missed my little brother so much! I finally got home at about 2:30 a.m. talked to my parents and headed downstairs.... There I found my door completely decorated! Misty had come to my house to decorate my door! (It's our birthday tradition around here. You can see the pictures from last year on my blog post here, in my recap of '09.) While she was here decorating, Nick, Stephen, and Jared came to visit me.. they called while I was at the airport, but I guess they had a surprise for me... so they left it in front of my door. They got me SUPER cute slippers!! Such cute boys they are! Thanks again, fellas! I love you all! Finally, I was in bed by 3!! It was a verrry long day, but so very worth it!! :) I got a million texts, a handful of phone calls, and a million FB messages wishing me a happy birthday throughout the day. I had no idea I was so loved by so many!! Thank you, everyone!

Tonight we had the family party! It was so fun!! I love my family, but it is always chaos when we're all together! There are 17.5 of us now... and that turns a house into a zoo in a hurry! We had homemade Costa Vida chicken salads for dinner! They were so good! We had them last year for the family birthday party and they were such a hit that they were requested again for this year. My mom is so awesome and worked so hard to make dinner a success. I love her! (I made the tortillas... actually, I just cooked them... but in doing so, I burned my fingers... this is why I shouldn't be trusted in the kitchen!) After dinner we had F.H.E. Colby gave the lesson. He read a story out of one of the Friend magazines. (story found here.) He did such a good job! Sometimes I forget he is 8!! After the lesson we had a family prayer. It seems strange, but there is something so powerful about an entire family kneeling down for a family prayer. We then opened presents. We were celebrating our three December birthdays- Me, Blake, and my mom, so there were a lot of presents. Blake got a Thomas the Train, a Playmobil racecar, new jammies, and a Buzz Lightyear. My mom got a cookbook and a Playmobil penguin set (my mom is obsessed with penguins and Playmobils...), and Kacey and Josh have my mom's present, but Kace refused to celebrate my mom's birthday so early. She is waiting until it is closer. I got the new Keith Urban CD, a gift card for iTunes, and Kacey and Josh are taking me to The Hale Center Theatre to see "A Christmas Carol". After presents we all hung out for a little bit, and in the meantime the kids were off to do their own thing. Oh man! At 7:40 p.m. I was super sick of the screaming, fighting, and over-all loud noise going on!! So we finally had ice cream and brownies (since I don't really like cake due to the frosting...) and everyone packed up to leave. I love my family, but family functions can be exhausting!! ha ha

Thank you EVERYONE for making my 23rd birthday so excellent!! I honestly have the greatest friends and family in the entire world!! I love you all!!

(I'll put up pictures on this post tomorrow! .............. as soon as I find the cord to my camera to download pictures onto my computer! ;) )