September Chelve

The above photo is of David and I getting ready for my birthday dinner. We always fight over this tiny mirror in our tiny bathroom when we are getting ready.

When I was little and someone asked when my birthday was I would respond with, "September chelve." I guess the t and w sound of twelve was harder to pronounce than the c and h sound for me.

I wasn't allowed to leave the bed while David made my breakfast, so I sat there and thought of all of my past birthdays. Sit tight for a long, maybe boring to you but not to me, post.

4: I had a birthday party that consisted of my best friend Shannon Jentzch and four or five boys from church. Kirk Bean asked me all day what my favorite present was. He got me a a little notebook with ballerina slippers on the front along with a cute little pink pen. I didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, so I told him that all of them were my favorites.

5: I remember baking a cake with my mom. The video camera was on and I was singing, "I am five, I am five," over and over again. I was holding the package of candles and accidentally dropped them in the cake batter. I stopped singing after that.

6: All of the girls in my kindergarten class came over in the morning for a birthday party and then we all rode the bus to school. My mom made us form lines as we walked to the bus stop. She is a teacher by profession, so this type of stuff came naturally!

10: Having a sleepover with my closest girlfriends. We painted nails with Wet N' Wild nail polish and planned on sleeping in the basement, until we all got scared and started crying. We then moved to the upstairs living room and my mom came out and talked to all of us until we fell asleep. My dad got mad because we were being too loud and he was trying to sleep.

13: I had just moved to Arizona from Washington, and I was missing my friends. My mom threw me a surprise party with some of the girls from the ward. 

15: I think it was Karla, Kelly, Lani, and Niki that came to my house in the morning with doughnuts and balloons. I loved walking around Poston campus with all my balloons.

16: 911 happened the day before my birthday, so this was definitely a birthday to remember. 

19: My parents gave me a pearl necklace and earrings that will always be special to me.

20: Kelly Baker hosted a little party at our apartment in Provo. She made probably a hundred cupcakes and had all sorts of snacks for everyone to enjoy.

21: David was in the hospital in Provo from leptosperosis. He was recovering, but not well enough to go home. Asialene made a delicious breakfast and my parents and Emerald were in town. About a month later David dedicated a day to celebrate my birthday. He made me breakfast and gave me my beautiful bike that he had been working on for so long.

22: Birthday lunch at Del Sol, went to the beach, and then went to an Irish pub where people were screaming at the rugby game and playing darts, and David and I were at our tiny little table eating hamburgers. It almost felt like we really were in Ireland. 

People out here make a big deal over birthdays, which is so nice. The girls at the dental office had birthday cake for me and a card (Kristy even had a card from the cats that we babysat!), and Del Sol even had cake, ice cream, and presents. They were all so thoughtful. But then again, I get sort of stressed out because I feel like I have to give each and every one of them a gift in return to say thanks for the birthday gift. Why can't I just except a gift, or nice gesture without feeling I'm being unfair if I don't do the same in return?

There are so many birthdays in September. Happy Birthday to Brittany Penrod Blount, Megan Smith (I haven't talked to her in years, but I remember her birthday!), Callie Slade (don't know where she is either), Bailey Cooper (Dr. Cooper's son), Teresa Evasco (Filipino girl from the branch), Landry ( haven't talked to her in forever either), Stephanie and Vanessa, and everyone else out there. I know there are many that I am forgetting.