Who Likes to Rock the Party?

Well, I know you've all been wondering how my birthday went. Here's my answer: it rocked the house.

It began on Friday night with a trip to Ruby River, where I ordered a New York strip. I'm sorry, Neil. I know you would have seen me eat a rib eye or prime rib, but this was some good steak, and it was just what I wanted. Sadly, while I tried hard to avoid sour cream on my baked potato, I forgot to ask if they also put on cheddar cheese. After I scraped the cheese off, the potato was heaven--I've never seen bigger chunks of bacon on a potato!!!!! Hazel got into the swing of things and did some country line dancing on the bench, but only after getting really upset that she couldn't kiss the giant elk head hanging near our booth. Holden was too scared to order steak and went with his old standby, chicken tenders, but then tried my steak and declared it to be the "best steak in the universe" to the waitress, after which he fell backwards and bonked his head. It was a typical restaurant experience: I had to scrape off some cheese, Hazel squealed and danced, Holden flirted with the waitress, and then did something embarrassing, and Mike ate too much and complained about it.

When we got home from Ruby River, Mike surprised me with a backpacking trip up Spring Creek Canyon. YAY! He had my pack all ready! I changed my clothes and we marched out the front door, down the street, and into the canyon. We pitched our tent in the dark, took some tylenol pm shots, and slept soundly till the next morning, when we heard gun shots and saw two hunters. The fall leaves were pretty, and I was proud that I had done the whole carry-your-own-gear camping thing. It was not your run-of-the-mill trip to the Homestead, or night at a bed and breakfast. Good old Mike!

After we got home from our backpacking, the gifts began pouring in:

First of all, Mike got me this cool camera:

It's a Nikon Coolpix. Only the coolest pics on the coolest camera for the coolest 29-year-old.

Then, Kacy took me to lunch and bought me:

this awesome purse from Mode in Provo. Sam and Maggie both made me awesome cards, and Maggie made me two bracelets, a heart, and a rock. Notice that the roots of the tree on Sam's card spell my name.

Then I got some birthday money from Mike's parents and my dad, so I bought:

this freaking cute wool coat made by the same people who make military uniforms. The question remains: can I pull off a beret with this? Possibly in a foreign country.....

Marcy Dibbleblotts (aka Hoss) sent me this little beauty from Layers:

It's so pretty!!

My mom made a triple layer chocolate cake,

and gave me an awesome Halloween decoration:


Heidi gave me:

a meat thermometer/timer. Now I can grill with confidence!

And I received a series of excellent and hilarious cards, some of which contained swear words (!)

(swear word card not pictured)

I had a good time. And I really like to rock the party.