And now, I'm old.

Oh hey, it's August. And so, I had a birthday! What fun! My parents came down for the occasion, which was delightful because it allowed Clark and I to go on a much needed date. It is embarrassing how long it had been. We didn't go out much when I was pregnant because I was too dang tired, and having a newborn is not conducive to slipping away for a few hours. I had honestly forgotten how rejuvenating it is to get out of the house with no kids. So a BIG thanks to Grammie and Opa for watching the kids while we went to the St George Art Museum.

Did you know St George had an art museum? I've read about it in the paper from time to time, but I never had a real desire to go. But I thought it would be the perfect date, seeing as we needed something relatively inexpensive, and relatively short (Ella requires food every 2 hours. On the DOT.) They had 3 exhibits, one featuring botanical drawings, one featuring photographs of the natural beauties of Southern Utah, and one featuring photographs of abandoned places. I liked the photography much better than the drawings of plants. And let me just take a moment to say that the red rock here is awe inspiring. Especially when you've got yellow leaves against it. And waterfalls. So, basically Zion in the fall is amazing. And September is nigh upon us. I'm just a little bit excited. Anyway, the museum was lovely, and I would say worth the $3 per person. Plus, then you get to feel cultured because you went to a museum on a date.

Also for my birthday we got to eat Cafe Rio, enjoy good company, and I had someone to sit with me while Clark played the organ in Stake Conference. It really was delightful. Oh, and I got some great presents, including a new hairdryer (mine broke like 6 months ago, and instead of buying a new one, I just gave up on doing my hair), The Importance of Being Earnest (a must see, really), a budget for some new clothes (as soon as I burn the rest of the baby fat [which isn't that much, we're doing good]), and this most awesome lampshade for our entryway chandelier:

I am in love with this. I've been wanting it for many months. And then I discovered that they are like $5 at IKEA, which is wonderful! But we don't have an IKEA. But my parents do! Yet another bonus of their birthday visit.

All in all, it was a great birthday. And now I've got less than year before I'm 30. Blergh. I've started a bucket list of things I want to do before that blessed event. They include: finish the Old Testament (We're in Zechariah. We'd better finish by next year.), read Anna Karenina (a book that I've been trying to read since I was 16), learn to play The William Tell Overture on the piano, make matching dresses for my girls, and actually use my passport. I'm mostly worried about that last one. Now would be the time to contribute to the "Get Shannon Out of the Country" fund.