the big 2-8!

This morning Nicholas texted me, "You're dating a guy who's officially in his late 20's:)"

Yes, I am. And I couldn't be more excited.

But to be honest, I had absolutely NO idea what to do for him this year. Should I go big? Personal? Simple? I mean he is turning 28! 2-8!!! That's big! He has been looking forward to/ dreading this birthday. He thinks he is now "over the hill" in single adult years.

So I wanted to do something special for him.

Because we haven't really had a good one-on-one date for quite some time, and with the hustle and bustle of life, I haven't been able to really vocalize me feelings, I knew I wanted to do something more personal--not so loud and crazy.

But I didn't want to just say nice things to him. (Although, that's wonderful too!) I wanted to do something different. New. Meaningful.

So I found this link and immediately knew this is what I wanted to do for him. 

I printed off some of my favorite pictures of the last year-and-a-half's worth of adventures from Costco, bought relatively nice stationary and began writing. taping. writing some more. laughing. and more writing. 

(My front room was a pigsty!)

In each envelope, I included a little handwritten note with 2-5 photos of some 

of our greatest adventures from the past year. 

Each of the envelopes were titled with things suggestions such as:

"Open when you need to know how much I love you"

"Open when you're feeling scared"

"Open when you're traveling far away"

"Open when it's your birthday"

"Open when you could use a little pep talk"

"Open when you're feeling happy"

...

I just love notes and words of affirmation. 

And what better way to distribute the birthday goodness than to give 10-15 envelopes 

that he can open throughout the next month. (I definitely recommend this present for your spouse, friend, significant other, neighbor, etc.)

Because his birthday landed on a Sunday this year, we decided to do our celebration yesterday. I called him yesterday morning and told him to meet me at one of our favorite locations, Liberty Park. (Because we live in two different cities, (Farmington and Provo) Salt Lake City acts as the middle ground to date and explore.)

Lucky for us, the sun was shining and the air was warm. We found a secluded grassy spot in the middle of the park and laid out a blanket for a (super!) homemade picnic. I'm still trying this whole cooking thing, but sandwiches, fruit, chips and guac., and peach popsicles is the best I got.

Nick also brought the kite I got him for Christmas, because it was an especially windy day. 

It was a beautiful day. 

Mmm hmm....melted peach popsicles

what a goof.

We almost beheaded a homeless man with our kite, to which he said, 

"I'm not afraid of no kite!" :)

I'm glad, because I would've been. It's one of those two-handed kites that can 

decapitate at the swish of a wrist. 

Needless to say, he loved the letters. He loved them so much, he kept trying to find an excuse to open one every hour. To which I kindly reminded him, one more today means one less tomorrow:)

All I have to say, without being too gushy, is that I love this boy. He is inspiring to me. His heart is kind and sensitive. He is passionate about life and does what he says he'll do. He is hard working and dependable. I know my heart is safe with him. I'm excited to see what the next year will hold. 

xoxo 

vote Jackson!

Nights like these make me grateful to be living at home with my wonderful family. My little sister, Eliza, is running for SBO this week. Yes, that means we crammed doing the posters all in one night. But it was joyous. We turned on the Bachelor, The Women Tell All, and jammed away. 

She decided to play off the Michael Jackson theme, if you couldn't tell. We've been researching pictures of the King of Pop and doing photo shoots of Liza to replicate his intricate dance moves. It's been nothing short of hilarious. 

We are hoping for the best. Fingers crossed. We hope the student body gets it right:)