28 - oh so great!

BEWARE: this is a pretty photo heavy post

That's right folks, I just had my 28th Bday.  And man oh man, it was wonderful :)  Being born on a holiday makes things pretty interesting.  Growing up, I could never have a party on my actual birthday due to the holiday festivities.... but this year, we were able to make it work!

J started off the week by surprising me with some roses.... I love my husband! :)

DAY 1 - July 1st

My parents' present arrived from Oklahoma... I was thrilled to receive some amazing presents from them!  Including a Vegan Cookbook and a Vegetarian Cookbook!  Not to mention a cute little Snow White purse from Disney World... I'm addicted, I know.  J and I opened my presents and I was BEYOND ECSTATIC to receive a brand new Camera from him!  My camera is a giant Nikon so it is very hard to take places and carry around.  Now I have a new smaller Canon that I can fit in my purse :)  Best present ever!  


J and I have a "Birthday Tradition" so we ate hibachi at Benihana and then had some fun martinis at the Red Door downtown.  I got Liquid Sin and he had an Espresso Martini.  

We finished the night off at Club Vegas where Rob's new band was playing a show.  They were phenomenal and we had so much fun :)

DAY 2 - July 2nd

J and I invited some friends over for some pre-party/appetizer action!  I made a new vegan chili recipe I found online... and man, it was TERRIBLE!  But everyone adored the vegan chicken fingers and their beverages :)   I got some amazing gifts from some wonderful friends.

After the pre-party action, we walked to the bowling alley down the street from our house and did some Beer Bowling.

It was a BLAST!  And I won 2 out of the 3 games!  Who knew I had such skill!? ;) joke

After bowling, a few of us headed over to the Drive-In where we watched Bad Teacher and Hangover2..... I already saw Hangover2 a couple weeks ago so I ended up napping through the whole thing .... whoops!  Cleo came to the drive-in with us even though they don't allow pets.  And I would just like everyone to know that she did AWESOME!  Didn't make a peep the whole night :)


DAY 3 - July 3rd

J spent most of the day picking up our new washer and dryer from Provo/installing it/ etc.  That evening, we went to Olive Garden for my favorite salad and then saw Midnight in Paris..... I absolutely adore Rachel McAdams... as in, she is my FAVORITE actress!  So I adored the movie even though she played a total bitch.   J liked it a lot too since it incorporated the creative side of things and discussed living in the past vs. the present.  I recommend it for a fun, lighthearted evening.  :)



DAY 4 - July 4th

MY BDAY! Woo to the hoo!   J cooked me some of my VERY favorite breakfast... flaky biscuits!  He bought vegan bacon so I was able to have a semi-normal breakfast sandwich ... which was divine :)

We had planned a tailgating party for the Real Salt Lake game that afternoon.  We showed up at the tailgating parking lot around 3pm and J cooked burgers/hotdogs for everyone.

It was SO much fun and my FIRST tailgating experience since leaving Oklahoma! 4  years without tailgating?!  Talk about withdrawal!  None of my Utah friends had tailgated and they were ranting and raving how awesome it was!  They may make it a regular game tradition!

 My friend MK even made me vegan cookies for my bday :) love her!

Not to mention I was rep'ing OU ....

The game was a lot of fun but we ended in a draw (3-3) due to some bad calls by the refs. 

That evening, they also honored the Real Salt Lake coach and retired his number from when he played for our team.  It was a really awesome memorial type service.

After the game, J and I raced across town to try and get to the fireworks near our house.  Due to traffic, it didn't look like we were going to make it in time.   But thanks to an accidental wrong turn and some awesome driving skills by J, we found a perfect spot up near the east bench.  We pulled off into a little dirt parking lot and sat on my trunk.  From our spot, we could see 9 different firework shows going at once.   It was REALLY neat to see because the shows ranged in distance so some were small and far away and some were close and huge!

After returning home, I then spent about half an hour dancing around like a goon playing with sparklers in my drive way.... I am a total nerd.... but it was my favorite holiday so who cares :)

No, that is not a Red White & Blue crown on my head... maybe .... 

It was the perfect cap to a PHENOMENAL Birthday weekend!  Hope everyone had a fabulous Independence Day!  Here's to 28!