The Big Day

Last week, I celebrated my 25th birthday. On April 1st, Ryan asked if I wanted to open my present on the 1st day of my birthday month or on my actual birthday, which is April 9th. I told him I would wait until my birthday but he kept asking and then finally admitted that he was just really excited to give me my present (which I found pretty cute). He gave me exactly what I asked for...an Ipod Shuffle to use at the gym and two cds that I have really wanted! I was really excited to get it, the Shuffle is so cute and little!

I then sweetly informed him that it would still be great to get a surprise on my actual birthday and I told him that he could even wrap up a bag of candy and I would be happy, I just wanted a surprise on my actual birthday. I definitely got a great surprise!

April 9th came and Ryan was very sweet and gave me a card and some money to buy some clothes or whatever I wanted. I have determined that one of my absolute favorite things about having a birthday is getting calls and e-mails from family and friends. I feel so loved! So thank you for everyone that called or wrote!

By 11:00 a.m. on my birthday, I had received calls from several people...but not my parents. I have to admit, I was confused. My mom had sent me a text message early in the morning to tell me happy birthday and I replied when I woke up thinking she would call to talk to me. I was surprised I had not heard from her as that is very out of character for my mom. I even went so far as to try to call her to make sure she was okay and nothing had happened and when I got her voicemail, I called my sister to see if she knew where she was. She told me she would try to get in touch with her. I heard from a few more people and then around 1:00, Ryan told me that he needed to go help our friend move a couch up to his apartment and would only be gone a few minutes. When he returned, he told me that we were going on a scavenger hunt for my birthday and the first clue was at the mall.

We arrived at a candle store and he told me that the first clue was in a candle. I started to look around and then turned to say something to Ryan and suddenly, my mom was right there in the store!! I started to cry and gave her a big hug and then cried some more. I was in shock for a good 10 minutes and didn't really know what to do! My cute mom flew all the way from Utah to surprise me on my birthday! Apparently Ryan didn't really need to help move a couch but instead go to the airport!

I asked her if my dad was with her and she said no. I was sad I couldn't see my dad too, but so happy to see my mom. On our way back to our apartment, my dad called my mom's phone and she told him that he was in trouble for not calling me yet to wish me happy birthday. I talked to him and told him I would forgive him. :) Ryan dropped us off at the apartment and went to get some easter candy that he had wanted to give me with my card. When he came back...he brought my dad with him! Again, I was shocked. I loved having my parents surprise me!

Ryan and my parents had been planning it for a couple of months and I could not have asked for a better birthday surprise. I could not have imagined a better day. The biggest reason that having my parents coming to DC is such a huge deal is that they are leaving at the end of June to live in Argentina for three years and in order for me to see them, I have to fly all the way to Neuquen, Argentina to see their cute faces. My dad has been called to serve as a mission president for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Neuquen, Argentina mission. My mom will accompany him and will serve with him and help with various responsibilities in the mission. If you are unsure as to what all of this Mormon language really means, there is a brief explanation here or you can look at the beliefs of my faith here. One cool thing about their mission is that they have penguins! I really hope I get to see them when we go visit. :)

It was so wonderful to have some time with my parents before they embark on their fabulous adventure. We will see them one more time before they leave when my family gets together in early June, but this time it was just us and my parents! We went to dinner for my birthday and then the next morning, left for a weekend trip to Palmyra, New York. I will leave that for a separate post. My birthday was a fabulous day and I am so very grateful for my parents and Ryan for planning such an amazing day. I am so lucky!