One Great Birthday

Yesterday was one great birthday. Ryan brought me doughnuts in the morning. The Stodtmeisters sent me flowers at work (beautiful). I got a cake at work and they sang to me. To finish the evening we went to dinner at a really yummy tapas place called Pipa. It was a blast. The food was great and they had a flamanco dancer that was really awesome. But the best part of the day was the ice cream cake Ryan bought me. Thank you everyone it was a wonderful day. It was the perfect way to start year number 26.Me, Laurel, Eve, and Tan (Laurel's friends) at dinner
Ryan and I at dinner

The awesome ice cream cake

The beautiful ring my mom bought me

Spring Break

Ryan and I both did our undergraduate work at BYU so we never had the blessing of a spring break. But this year we got to experience what a spring break is like and it was glorious. We flew down to Florida where I served my mission and were the weather is warm. We had lunch with one of my great friends from the mission Mary Contrerez. She is so sweet and it was great to see her again. There were wonderful mission flash backs. When we got to West Palm the first thing we did we head to the beach. The weather was perfect and since I had never walked on the sand in Florida we strolled down the beach. We had only been there for maybe an hour and all the stresses in my life were gone. I love the beach. It was marvelous. From West Palm Beach we drove down to Miami stopping at all my old mission areas along the way. We rented a convertible and enjoyed the warm air. Ryan's cousin Julie and her husband Bob live in Coral Gables which is in Miami. We stayed with them the first night. They took us to a wonderful restaurant the first night and we caught up on what we are all doing. It was fun. And we appreciate them letting us stay with them. The next day we left Julie and Bob's apartment and drove through my area in Flagler. Then we went west to the everglades. The airboat ride was fun and we saw a few baby alligators. Then we watched a guy teach us about alligators. It was red neck but that is what Ryan wanted. We drove around Hialeah which was my first area and then we went to Key Biscayne. There is a National Park out there were you can rent bikes, have picnics, sit on the beach, fish, and check out the light house. We rented a tandem bike and cruised along the water for about a half hour. There were beautiful views of Miami. After the bike ride we sat on the beach and watched the awesome Florida clouds float by. The clouds were something I loved about Florida from my mission and they were as cool as I remember them. Ryan liked them also. Day two we put the top down and headed to Key West. It is a long drive because the speed limit is slow and there are only 2 lanes but the scenery is breath taking. For 2 hours we were driving over keys and bridges with water on both sides. Our first stop in Key West was the Hemingway house. We were both very impressed and really enjoyed it. We took a small tour of the house and then walked around and took pictures. It is an amazing home and surrounded by beautiful gardens. The grounds has over 40 cats and they are famous for their 6 toed cats. It was also really fun to learn about Hemingway and his life. After the Hemingway house we walked down Duval street and then headed to the most southern point of the United States to take pictures of the monument and the sign that says 90 miles to Cuba. To the left of Ryan is all the wording but the line was huge to take a picture and we didn't want to wait. So we snapped a shot and took off. We then went to dinner at a cute restaurant by the ocean. We had pina coladas and fish and enjoyed being on the beach. Man I want to live near the ocean. (I know we live in New York which is right near the ocean but it is not the same).Before we left KeyWest we were told we had to make a stop at the Blondie Giraffe. We would never turn up key lime pie. The Blondie Giraffe is a cute ma and pa store that just sells key lime pie and it is to die for. The marangue on top was perfect and had little zests of key limes. It was really yummy. After the pie we drove back to Miami to spend the night. Before we headed up to West Palm I drove Ryan through South Beach. He really liked it. All the art deco buildings give south beach a fun feel.

Right before we left we headed back up to West Palm Beach and had lunch at The Old Key Lime House. It is the oldest building in the area and has now been turned into a restaurant. The restaurant opens onto the water. It was beautiful. Ryan had fish and chips and I had fish tacos. We needed to get as much fish in as we could before we left. The shark was right outside. After lunch we went back to the beach and enjoyed the sun, sand and water for about an hour before we needed to be back at the airport. The waves were rolling in and there was a man-o-war invasion so there were big purple jellyfish all over the beach. It was a perfect ending to a perfect vacation.

Update

I am so excited because my Mom, Dad, Sister and Brother-in-law are flying into New York today. It is always fun to see family. We had a good weekend. Saturday morning I went to our stake women's conference. It is always nice to have that spiritual boost. The weather was so beautiful and warm that I ran home to get Ryan. He showered and by the time we headed out the door it was cold, windy and cloudy. Oh well. We walked around for a little bit and headed back home. Poor Ryan has been sick for a week now. So the weekend was really low key. Ryan and I have been called to be temple workers on Tuesday nights. Last night was our second time and it was wonderful. There is such a calming feeling in the temple I love it.