24.

birthday santa came! (alex told me this, and I told him "don't talk about santa or i'll start crying" so he said, "which santa? Santa Clause?" And I burst into tears. The love I have for that fantastic old man is a little disconcerting.

 I tell Alex I want a kitten a lot... so I got one! And olivia sent me a crab sucker from Maryland. so cute.

Alex got me a face cake. A real live face cake with my school picture on it! My family wouldn't eat my face, so I brought it to work today. It was a hit.

 Well, somehow I survived to the ripe old age of 24.

24, man, 24! I haven't felt a huge connection to the past few birthdays. When I turned 21 it was great. I just KNEW I should be 21, ya know? 22 and 23 went by in a haze. Especially 23. 23 was a "let's get this wedding planning done and not care about birthday" year.

24 feels reminiscent of 21. Like, I know this is the spot I'm supposed to be at. 24 feels old enough to be married, graduated from college and have a career. 24 feels like I've made it.

I cannot WAIT to see what this year has in store for me. Last year was a whirlwind of life changing experiences. I got married to the most awesome person, took a road trip to California, graduated with a degree in teaching, got a job as a fourth grade teacher, watched two of my sisters head out on missions, cried a lot, laughed a lot, laughed so hard that i cried a lot, learned a lot, and felt so thankful I thought my heart would burst.

I have a feeling 24 will only get better.

p.s. general conference was this weekend and it was SO awesome. watch it here for some inspiration.