Best Birthday Ever

Yesterday was the greatest birthday of my life. I woke up and could hardly contain myself. We were going to meet the Herrin’s at noon and we needed to go into town to get a bag. By the time we got back it was eleven and we were sort of scrambling to get ready. The whole time I was singing show tunes in my head and out loud, trying to pass the time. When the cab got here I actually started hyperventilating! By the time we got to the Herrin’s I was actually shaking with anticipation and excitement. Erin Herrin answered the door and gave me a big hug. Then we went to meet the kids, they were all in the kitchen and Kendra was sitting on the counter. (I was sooo surprised ;)) I thought that they were going to be shy, especially Maliyah because she’s so timid, but boy was I wrong. We went to surf and swim (which was a wave pool) and I got to hang out with Maliyah the whole time! We played and splashed and she was so brave in the waves. I was very impressed with her. At one point she asked me where I was from. When I told her Canada she said: “do you see a lot of moose’s there?” that was so cute! After the wave pool we went back to their house for a barbecue dinner. It was so awesome. After dinner I played with the kids for a while and then I was surprised with a cake and a present. Best. Birthday. Ever. They gave me a copy of When Hearts Conjoin signed by the entire family! It was so great. After cake and ice cream, I had a little something for the kids to open. It was just a bag of goodies; it had some markers and card games and things like that. Me and Kendra and Maliyah and Erin and my mom played go fish. It was so cute. The things that seven year olds say are just too funny! Me and Kendra lost, but everyone else won. I showed Erin my Utah beads and she really liked them. (My Utah beads are my special counting beads. I have put a bead on every day since I e-mailed Erin last year) I got to talk with Erin and Jake about conjoined twins and such and I learned a lot of new things. When it was finally time to go, I gave my Utah beads to Erin to keep. I had been contemplating for weeks on what I should do with them and after seeing how Erin liked them so much, I knew that they would be in good hands. It was kinda hard to give them up after having them with me all year, but I felt it was the right thing to do. Jake Herrin drove us back to the hotel with Kendra and Maliyah. I got some real nice hugs and managed to hold back the tears until they drove away. Best birthday ever.