Angel's Landing.

My friend Allison had reserved 12 tickets to hike the Subway on July 14th. (the day after my bday) I have always wanted to do that hike so we decided that would be the perfect birthday activity. A last minute trip to Hawaii forced Allison to cancel altogether, so I invited a few of Devin's friends in Provo and we decided to meet at Brianhead and make a weekend out of it!!

...That is until it decided to rain. We still had high hopes so we headed to Zion anyways. As soon as we drove up the the hike entrance the heaven's open, as if the Lord was personally telling us not to go on this hike, it started to pour like I have never seen it pour before!! 

We obeyed and headed back to the car to make a new plan. On our way back to our second car we noticed (everyone but me and Matix since we were in the trunk...don't ask) a huge waterfall that definitely had not just been that streaming off the mountain. (That should give you a hint as to how hard it had rained.) So we stopped the car and hiked to it. It was freezing and quite the adventure...but super fun! 

Afterwards we headed over to the main Zion visitor center and found out that it had indeed flash flooded in the Subway that morning, so we were glad we opted to pass. The first time the hike had been closed down this year. What are the odds?!! Ugh. We decided to hike Angel's Landing instead. I was less than thrilled about this, but eventually was convinced to do it. It was hard to go from thinking I was doing a 9.5 mile downhill slot canyon full of canyoneering and swimming to climbing 1,488 feet in 2.5 miles with straight switchbacks. However, even though there were a few times that I wanted to give up and or kill myself...I survived. And was actually really glad I did it! The view was remarkable. And I didn't want to get shown up by my four-year-old son...but I did. Matix took that hike on like a champ. He had no fear. And never even stuggled! In fact, he was always the one requesting that our breaks be cut short. He even was a real man and pooped on the peak. We have picture proof but I will spare you the visual. :)

I did have a few small heart attacks having a four year old with us looking over the edge of that ginormous cliff. But he was very obedient and loved every second of it. We had a few crazy looks taking a four year old on such an intense hike but it seriously was a piece of cake for him so I am glad we chose to bring him. However, I bet he is the first four year old to ever make it to the peak...with no help. He sure loves adventures and hiking!! We had a blast. It was fun to spend some more time with Devin's friends. We love spending time with them.

But before we parted ways...we were left with this goodbye from his poet friend....

twenty-six.

That's right...I am now twenty six years old. 

I'm now on that downward slope to the big 3-0. Dang. 

On top of bringing me on the most amazing trip ever, Devin spoiled me rotton. 

He woke up at 3 am to head to the store to surprise me with a dozen donuts and balloons. 

He sure knows how to make a girl smile.

Then we went about some typical daily errands, like taking Matix to his doctor appointment and getting the oil changed in my car...but Devin came with and made sure I felt extra special all day. Even Matix was being extra lovey and was sure to tell me happy birthday every five minutes. It was perfect.

As if that wasn't enough...Devin felt like I needed more so he took me to lunch at my favorite...Nordstrom's Cafe and bought me some new goodies at Forever 21. He's the best.

Then to make the day even happier, our friend Margo came into town and gave me a super duper birthday hug before we all headed to Brianhead for the weekend! 

The following week Layne planned a little dinner with a bunch of my friends at Los Tacos. I always love the chance to catch up with all the people I love, and it's fun for them to get to know Dev better :) Thanks Layne. 

Happy Birthday to Me!!

East Coast Road Trip: Washington D.C.

After our jam packed couple of days in the City, he hopped on another bus and headed south to Washington D.C.!! I was so excited for this portion of the trip because two of my bestest friends live here! Both me and Devin had been here before (me-once, him-like 5+ times) so we were mostly excited to just hang out and catch up with friends. Sara is my friend from my days up in Reno. She is seriously the cutest thing ever. She has been living here for like 3 years or something and so it's about time I found a way to visit her. Audrey's husband is doing an internship there for the second summer in a row, so they are just for  few months, and are living in the sweetest little apartment right in downtown D.C. (So jealous).

When we first got there we went straight to Sara's house and finally met her boyfriend, Brad! They live in the most adorable little townhouse just outside of D.C. in Arlington, Virginia. We got reacquainted and then headed down to Alexandria because Sara was taking a photography class there. Brad stayed home because he just had surgery on his shoulder and wasn't feeling like being up and around quite yet. Me and Dev walked around, sat by the ocean, visited a memorial, and had ice cream before meeting back up with Sara for dinner at a delicious pizza place and calling it a night.

Monday morning we headed straight to the capitol for a private tour that Sara arranged for us, which was really fun. Then we wandered around before heading to meet up with an old friend of Devin's for lunch. After lunch we headed to Audrey's adorable apartment in the sky to hang out and catch up an all things. When her husband finally got home from work we all headed out to dinner, walked around chinatown, and ended the night playing games on their roof with a perfect view of the glowing capitol and then caught the second half of the Bachelorette with Sara and friends. TeamJef!!

Brigham Young

By the last day of our freaking trip we were pretty warn out. We got a late start, said our goodbyes, and headed to the holocaust museum and lunch before needing to catch our 5:30 flight back home.

We had the best time, seeing our best friends, in some of this country's best cities!
We sure are spoiled.