One year older and....wiser too?

6:42 am.  I'm in a deep sleep. I'd forgotten to set my alarm the night before on purpose.  Who doesn't sleep in on their birthday?

6:43 am.  I'm sitting bolt-upright in bed, scared to death.

My dad, brother Nate and sister Lynley decided it'd be a great idea to take me out to breakfast on my birthday.  They didn't call to wake me up, no no no, that would've been too calm and peaceful for the occasion.  Instead, they pounded on our bedroom window (which is about a foot and a half away from my head, mind you) like the world was about to end or something.  So much for sleeping in.

We hit up Callie's Cafe.  It's quite a find, and I'll admit that I have Steph's parents to thank for it (That's another story though).  Callie's is the kind of place you'll find the same people there at the same times every morning.  It's got that homey small-town feel, with home style breakfast food that well outstrips Denny's or IHOP.  Definite recommendation.

A little background before I get into the presents.  I HATE surprises.  I can't stand not knowing stuff. With that in mind, you can imagine that when I found out about a month before my birthday that Dal was getting me a lens (much to his chagrin), I was ecstatic that I would be completely in-the-know. Also because I knew he was getting me a lens, I made sure he understood that he couldn't get me anything else expensive, because the lens was already over our budget.  He agreed.

The night before, Dal calls me as he pulls up.  "Hey, can you come out and help me bring some stuff in?"
"Dal...you better not have."
"Just come help me."

Of course, he had not one, not two, but eight gifts on the front seat of his truck.  "You didn't say how many inexpensive gifts I could get you," was all he said. 

Well the first was the lens, amazing!  Then I got into the inexpensive gifts, which went down like this:
1. pack of Princess and the Frog stamp rings (I'd recently asked if I could get my wedding ring re-dipped...this was the compromise--eight new rings!)
2. bobby pins (Not just any, these are really thick ones for crafty flower making---I'm super excited)
3. gardening gloves (the week before I was pulling weeds bare handed)
4. sidewalk chalk, to help appease my inner child
5. coloring book and crayons (see 4, also to keep me entertained on our road trip to CA this week)
6. Toy story sand bucket and beach toys (California.......here we come!)

The six listed above were definitely within the inexpensive gift range--all dollar store items, but being who he is, he never quite follows the rules exactly.  The last gift was a new camera bag that fits the new lens perfectly. 

After work, we hopped into the car and hit up the Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy.  Check it out!

Highlights:

In the Utah section, along the back wall in the main room is a fake pond.  Or at least we thought.  We seriously sat for like three minutes trying to decide if it was real or not.  Finally, the bullfrog we were using as a gauge actually breathed, solving the mystery.  It's real folks, it's real.

How cool is this?

The sea anemone's in there were pretty cool too, but isn't that viewing tank sweet?

The ray's!  Not gonna lie, it took me aback when it felt silky...a little creepy.

In the "hands-on" area, I stuck my hand in with a handful of green brittle starfish.  They have super long spidery arms, and one of them wrapped its arm around my finger and suckered on.  Made me blush, I'd never had a starfish kiss before!

Jellyfish.  They're so cool in and of themselves, but we had just watched the oceans episode of Life just the day before, and I still swear these same jellyfish were on that episode...oober cool.

Don't ask me why, but I was fascinated by the seahorses.  They had Dwarf Seahorses that were only about an inch big...so cute! The one in the picture is a Giant Seahorse, more like four inches.

The penguins!  Anyone who goes there and says the penguins weren't awesome, is lying!

We finished off the night with dinner at The Roof in downtown.  Amazing view, great food, perfect atmosphere.  All in all a perfect day, I really don't know how Dal will be able to live up to it next year!