Birthday Dinner & Catchup Post

I'm trying my best to get caught up to this year on my blogging but things have been quite busy. As a result, this post is going to cover a few months at one time!

Since my birthday falls on Christmas break I decided to celebrate my birthday the weekend after New Years Eve. This New Years Eve I spent it dancing with Sandi, Luke, Miranda, and Mark. We had a great time going out together!

The next weekend I invited my closest friends and family to a birthday dinner at La Jolla Groves (my favorite restaurant) and almost every single friend I invited came! This is something that has not happened to be before, so it truly touched me as I had a room filled with people who I love and who care about me. Below are some pictures of my dinner party, the people who made my birthday truly special.

The year 2013 held so many great memories for me! I had a chance at a fresh start, new memories, rekindling friendships, making new friends, reestablishing my opinions and hobbies, regaining my love of fitness, going on trips, trying soooo many new things, and enjoying life. These people in this picture were a huge part of that and I care about them so much. I couldn't have asked for a better year and having these people in my life was the biggest blessing to help me out last year. So thank you to all of my friends!

I almost forgot to mention, before I celebrated my birthday dinner with friends, my bestie Sandi surprised me when I came home to a bag of presents and a homemade red velvet cake! If you know me, you know red velvet is my favorite and if you know Sandi she prefers to buy meals rather than make them so it was the kindest and most sweetest gesture ever. Thank you sooo much for my homemade cake girl!!

I also got to attend Sandi's graduation from MATC in Cosmetology in January! I'm so proud of all her hard work, talent, and dedication!

A few weeks later, my oldest sister Tasha celebrated her birthday with her friends. We went to dinner and then to her favorite cupcake shop, Cupcake Cravings. It was fun to celebrate her birthday with some of her girlfriends and reflect on what a positive role model she is. Tasha is one of the most loving and kind people I know. Being a wife and mother has truly accentuated her talents and characteristics that make her an amazing role model. I'm so glad to have such great older sister who is always there for me. Happy Birthday big sis, love you so much!!

 

My sister also has some amazing kiddo's who I love dearly! My nephew Kaden invited me to one of his soccer games so I got to sit with my sis, Leighton, and Cohen while we watched him in action. Afterwards we went to Cupcake Cravings for a treat...Hmm I'm noticing a pattern of cupcakes with my sister and I ;) Anyway, I sure do love time with my niece and nephews. They are adorable and make me feel so loved!

In January Luke and I went to the MMA Showdown fights at UVU. Thanks to our friend Miranda, we got floor tickets which made watching the fights that much more fun! Call me crazy but this is one sport that I actually enjoy watching due to the action and relatively short rounds. It was fun to show my knowledge of fighting, though limited, to Luke. We had a great time! Thanks Miranda!

 The next week I attended my second ever Jazz game with my friend Kasie. I don't normally go to Jazz games but she had Box Suite tickets and I couldn't say no. We had a great time watching the game, eating a plethora of tasty snacks, and catching up. I'm not saying I HAVE to watch the game like this from now on...haha, but it definitely was my favorite was to attend. Thanks so much for having me as your date Kasie, I had a great time!

 



Another highlight of the beginning of the year was going to my first Rock concert!!!! Yeah, I know you might think I'm crazy but I love trying new things (within reason) and am open-minded and lover of all types of music. Luke and Ian are big Parkway Drive fans and convinced Miranda and I to join them, along with some of our other friends. Initially I was apprehensive as I knew I would stick out like a sore thumb in a crowd such as this, but getting into "character" was half the fun.

The concert held plenty of head-banging, some screamo screaming, mosh pits, crowd surfing, and a little bit of stage dancing. The first and last are the ones I mostly participated in and it was a blast. I was nervous I would get banged around in the mosh pit but whenever it would get too intense for me Luke would put his arms around me so I wouldn't get hurt. I mean seriously, Luke was the buffest guy there so as soon as I remembered that I didn't feel frightened anymore. So besides my small second of feeling frightened by a mosh pit,  the crowd was very chill and Parkway Drive was sooo down to earth. Fans were getting on stage and taking selfies with them during songs or singing into the microphone with the lead singer and they didn't care or mind one bit. It doesn't hurt that they had amazing Australian accents and they were easy on the eyes haha ;)

My two favorite memories from the night were when Luke crowd surfed and when I got up on stage and danced. Luke encouraged me to get up on stage with the band and although I'm usually a pretty reserved person he helps me get outside my comfort zone, which I love, and it ended up being my favorite memory from the night. So fun! I would have never thought I would enjoy a concert like Parkway Drive, but the crowd, energy, instrumentals, and company made it a blast! Even though I only knew the lyrics to two songs, it was amazing, and that's how you know the band rocks! I'm so glad I tried something new like this concert and went with an amazing group of friends. Here are some pictures from the night:

On a side note, here is a picture Luke snapped of me at Utah Lake as the sun was going down. He wanted to take pictures on the lake but the lake was too defrosted. However, I did walk on the lake a few weeks before this picture for the first time :)



January was a fun and busy month! February held Valentine's Day which was amazing this year :) The day before, my friend Miranda and I went shopping together for Luke and Ian's presents and worked on surprises for them. It was so fun to be festive together as we are both romantics. 

That night I stayed up until 3 or 4 am and worked on the most amazing sugar cookies I've ever baked and a "heart attack" for Luke's car. I was so happy with the results and to surprise him with a simple, yet thoughtful Valentine's Day surprise. Thanks to his sister Haley, I was able to get his spare keys and totally surprise him. Thanks for your help Haley! Here are some pictures of my work:

Later that night Luke showed up with a bouquet of flowers-which this girl hasn't received in over 5 years so I was totally smitten and happy! For dinner we went with our group of couple friends to dinner at La Jolla Groves and then split off and played around downtown SLC together. Afterwards we got some cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory in Citycreek, which meant the night consisted of my two favorite restaurants-I was happy! It was the perfect kind of Valentine's for me! Thanks Luke for a great Valentines Day!

Of course, I've been working out just the same and making gains in fitness which has been exciting. Since Luke and I love fitness and are always talking about new workouts, health, etc I asked him some things that could help tone my thighs and legs since those are my trouble spots. He took a lot of time to show me some great workouts and I've been seeing some great results! Thanks Luke! Here are some progress pictures and some of my favorite motivational quotes from the past few months:



In March, Luke's sister, Haley, got married to Adam and that was such a fun event to be involved in. Since I love party planning I helped a little bit before the wedding and I have to say, I have never seen a bride more organized than she. Every single detail was planned out and since I favor Haley's style, I think it was PERFECT!! The day of their wedding was absolutely beautiful and sunny outside, despite rain the entire week. Right before they made their first appearance from the temple I got to meet Luke's extended family and they were SO nice! When Haley and Adam came out from the temple it was so joyous and left such a positive impression in my mind. They were both beaming so much it was contagious and I most definitely shed a tear or two of happiness for them. I could relate to Adam as we have both had somewhat similar experiences with love and to see him so happy and being married in the temple to such a great person, was so reassuring to me, even helped restore my faith that good things can be in store for me too.

After wedding pictures we attended their wedding luncheon at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and it was so very nice. It was touching to be with the family and close friends of Haley and Adam and a special treat to be with Luke on his sisters special day. The toasts were beautiful, creative, funny, and heartfelt. It was everything you could ever want and the spirit and love was in the room so strongly I had a hard time controlling my emotions at times. Once the wedding luncheon was over, we went with our friends Ian and Miranda for a stroll around temple square. I snapped these pictures that midday before the reception:

Photo cred-Marcelo Paz

Before the reception started Luke and I helped set up the decorations along with family and friends. I seriously couldn't have imagined a more perfectly put together shabby chic wedding reception. It was like seeing the perfect pinterest wedding reception right before your eyes. Once the reception started I got to spend a lot of quality time with Hudson, Luke's favorite person and nephew. He was such a cutie and so fun to be with during the night when I wasn't next to Luke. For those of you who don't know, my nephew and Luke's nephew are playmates as our sisters went to school together. It's a small world! Anyway, Kaden and Hudson are at such FUN ages and I LOVE kids, that making him laugh and carrying him around during the night was a great time! What a beautiful wedding day to help with and be a small part of. I'm so glad to spend time with the Paz family and especially on such a special day! Here are some pictures I took that night:

Photo cred-Mary Paz

Photo credit-@marenjch

Photo cred-Mary Paz



Here are some videos of dancing and cutting the cake that night as well:



The wedding was really the perfect kick off to spring and although I didn't go on any trips this year, a break from school for a week was thoroughly enjoyed! Here are some pictures from the break when Luke showed me how to drive a scooter. Although I was nervous, Luke is very patient and calm which is perfect for my personality, so I was able to learn without feel stressed. Thanks Luke for always teaching me how to do new things and creating memories together! Here are some pictures he took to capture the memory:

Until next time, I hope you enjoy this post!!

Love,

Calissa