What I DID & DIDN'T DO... for my b-day!

So... this weekend, I turned 32 years old. I wanted to do something really fun to celebrate. (Because I learned a while ago, that if I want my birthdays to be special, then I have to be the one to MAKE them special!) So I took off Friday, so that I had a 3 day weekend to enjoy. (I always take work off on my birthday.) This is because growing up, other people got to stay home from school on their b-day. However my b-day, August 24th, always fell around the first week of school and I didn't have the option of not going!!

So... what did I do for my birthday weekend!!?? Well, first let me tell you what I DIDN'T DO!!

My friend Dave also wanted to do something fun this weekend, because it was his last free weekend before having surgery. So last week, Dave & Lynn suggested we all fly to Ohio and go to Cedar Point!! (which has awesome rollercoasters!!!)

http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/park/rides/coasters/index.cfm

It sounded perfect!! I even called my Aunt Barb- who lives out there to see if we could arrange a visit! And up until last Tuesday... that was the plan. But then the flights started to look bad. (Dave works for USAirways, so we'd be flying stand-by.) So we started looking at other options... I suggested we go to California and play at Magic Mountain! (and maybe I could arrange a visit with my favorite nephew!) :)
This was a great plan- until we looked at the flights. We've done day trips to Cali before- we fly in early, play in the park all day, take the last flight out in the evening. However, because of rising fuel costs, there are now only 2 flights in and out of Burbank on Saturday. And the last flight left Burbank at 1:30 pm. So there is not even an evening flight as an option. So that didn't work.

I thought spending my b-day weekend in Utah. I could stay at my grandma's for free, and maybe go out to dinner with my friend Brenda. But the flights were oversold, probably because people were headed back to school.

Then Dave and Lynn suggested we take a ride up to Sedona. That was okay... but I kind of wanted to get out of town. We could go up to Sedona anytime...

So then on Thursday, I had a brilliant idea! I've always wanted to go to Seattle! My cousins the Pertls live up there! So I could see them!! :)

I called Dave & Lynn to tell them my brilliant idea... and discovered they had already booked a hotel in Sedona. :( BUT- Dave said- if you want to go to Seattle, I'll give you a buddy pass! WOOHOO!!

I hurried to e-mail, text message, and call- to make arrangements. My cousins the Pertls were very gracious and said I could crash at their place even though I gave them practically no notice!!! I was so excited! I started looking up all the things I wanted to do there...

I could go to the Space Needle,

explore Olympic National Park- and enjoy the spectacular beauty that exists there.

Hike to the waterfalls...

Walk along the beach...
Hike through the rainforest...
See Mt. Rainer,

Take a boat out to go whale-watching (out to the San Juan islands)

***OR*** Go SEA-KAYAKING & whale-watching on the same trip!!! (my 1st choice!)

Eat FRESH seafood- King Crab!! YUM!!!

Visit Pike Place Market!!! That's where they throw the fish around! And there's all kinds of exotic foods to try & shops to visit! (OK- not the coffee ones, but the others!!)

YEAH!! How AWESOME!!! This was it! **This is what I wanted to do!**

The flights looked okay- there were about 10 open seats on a flight out Friday afternoon, and Sunday afternoon's flights were decent too! I listed on the flights, paid for the ticket, and reserved a rental car. My cousin Sydney even got time off from work to be my tourguide!

So... I packed up my stuff and went to the Phoenix airport on Friday!

And... that's the end of that story. I never left Phoenix!! I didn't get on my flight. :( (Being a stand-by, of course I'm last priority to board.) Some stand-by's got on... employees have first dibs. Then employee's spouses/parents. THEN... regular stand-by passengers. (such as myself.) And... I didn't get on the next flight after that either. :(

I did meet a nice guy at the airport who had a dog. So I got to pet his cocker spaniel named Lucy for a while. Yes, I was disappointed. I checked with customer service to see if the Utah flight had any openings (because sometimes things change last minute.) But.. nope! Oh well! I figure it wasn't meant to be. (Also- Saturday morning's flight to Seattle only had 3 open seats, and 5 people listed as stand-by)

So on my drive home Friday night, I called up my good friend Deena. We went out to dinner and saw a movie (the Dark Knight... again!) Still great! :)

Then I picked up my Houdini dog Jasmine. (I had left Jaz with my parents because I thought I would be out of town.) My mom put Jaz in her kennel before going to bed for the night. She got up later and Jaz was out! (She won't do this while people are watching, so there's no proof. But she sticks her paw through the bars and flips up the lever, then paws at it to slide it over.)

:) Gotta love my too-smart Houdini dog. :)

Saturday, I had a relaxing day. Slept in, read some more of my book "Breaking Dawn, talked to friends, etc.

Sunday, my actual b-day, I went to church (where yes, I was sung to in Relief Society), went to my family's house for my favorite meal- taco's! Yes, there were 32 candles dripping wax on my delicious Death-By-Chocolate cake. Then that night, I invited a bunch of friends over to play games and have treats. I have a small house, and at one point there were about 18 people smashed in my living room. Other than it being hot, because the A/C wouldn't cool down fast enough... it was an enjoyable time. I have some good friends. (and thank you for all the birthday wishes I got on my Facebook page.)

So... although I didn't end up traveling to Ohio, California, Utah, Sedona, or Seattle for my 32nd birthday, I still had a very enjoyable day. :) Spending it with family and friends was good too.

*(However, this doesn't mean I've put the Seattle trip out of my mind! It's just postponed.... for a future date!!) ;)