This year, my birthday was soooo awesome! On May 28th, I turned 19!! that seems so old! I swear I was turing 9 just the other day. The first part of the day was really slow going and didnt do anything and really was wondering if it was going to be a good birthday at all. As the afternoon came along, my family and I got together and decided on what we were going to do. We ended up going to Texas Roadhouse and seeing Prince of Persia after. Most of the time when my family gets together, tensions rise and we end up arguing over dumb stuff. This night was different. We saw sides of each other that we havent seen before. We laughed until our guts were hurting! We had such a good time with each other. It was something I really needed from my family and I am glad it was able to happen on my birthday.
The next day Mandi surprised me and took my out for our celebration! We started off the day by going on a hike up Bell Canyon. I have done this hike tons of times before but this time was very different. I noticed the beauty in everything and enjoyed every minute of it. It was such a tough hike! All of it was so worth it once we got to the waterfall. It was freezing cold but once you saw that and the beauty of the valley, it was breath taking. It was weird too because I even ran into someone I havent talked to in such a long time. After that we went to Bonsai for dinner and OH BOY it was sooooo good! our chef was awesome too! he was really funny and made our night.
THEN AMANDA GRADUATED!!! How cool is that!! I really dont think it has hit me yet!! Im way proud of her and cant wait to hear the things that come her way in the near future. Things are happening so fast! It seemed like just the other day I was helping her out with her first math assignment in September. Now she is done with highschool for...EVER!
About 2 days after that I was able to go to Moab with the family. Usually we have about 5 or 6 other jeepers go with us but this time it was just us. It was really nice because we only had to deal with our schedule and do things we wanted to do. The weather was a little hot but it was so nice and relaxing. One of the nights I was able to go for a walk and just reflect on things that are going to be happening here in the near future. Im so ready for this mission I cant even explain it. It going to be so tough and difficult to leave my family, my second family, mandi, and my friends. We had a really fun trip down there.
The day after I got back I had to get ready to go camping with some neighborhood buddies. We would be going to wyoming for a week to ride dirt bikes, fish, and just relax. I havent had that much fun in a long time! Even though it rained almost everyday we were there, we made the best of it and had fun playing in the mud and catching an average of 10 fish a day!! I thought I was tough and didnt ever get home sick, but the day before we left I got really home sick and wanted to go home that very second. Let me tell you that was only 5 days and I am getting ready to leave for 730 days!! I know I can do it I know I can.
