Yesterday I turned 18. An adult. Can you say weird? I'm not quite ready to be considered an adult and take on all the responsibilities that comes along with being 18.
Since I had major musical rehearsals on my actual birthday, we celebrated Monday by going to Olive Garden and opening my gifts. I got some pretty sweet things: an ice scraper, emergency car kit, super cute clothes and boots, slippers, and a hoop skirt! You may think that is boring (my sisters made it clear it was to them), but for me it was quite exciting! For one thing, I was very grateful for the ice scraper. Why? Well one day, there was frost on my car. I had 5 minutes to get to school before I was late and there was no scraper to be found. I frantically searched in the van and around the garage only to find no ice scraper. I went to my last hope and grabbed a spatula from the kitchen. To my surprise it worked, and quite well, too! But needless to say, I was grateful for the ice scraper. And the car kit is amazing. See below!
{Complete with a flashlight, jumper cables, tape, a blanket, and other useful things I have yet to learn about. The top opens in an awesome way and oh! Did I tell ya? The bottom is Velcro so it doesn't move everywhere. Sa-weeeet!}
To start off my actual birthday, the best mom ever (mine) made a pancake and bacon breakfast for the seminary council for our meeting that morning. Delish. Then, one of the best birthday gifts ever happened. In Seminary, three General Authorities came to my period. My class was fortunate to have Elder Malm visit with us. It was absolutely incredible. His entire countenance was shining and his eyes burned with the Spirit. He was so friendly and he commented on how 'smiley' I was, which made me happy. The love I felt from him engulfed all around me and I thought, "If he's a mortal being and has this much love for us, I can't even imagine how much love Christ has for God's children." He spoke to us towards the end of class and I can't explain in words how amazing it was. The spirit was so strong and my testimony was strengthened in that prophets are definitely called of God on the earth today to lead and guide us. Having him come to class brought on a spiritual high and I couldn't stop smiling throughout the day. It was an unforgettable experience.
For lunch, Mom took me to Costa Vida where we used my certificate from my awesome principal. During the car ride I listened to the CD Jane made for my birthday. I fell in love with it immediately. Every song is wonderful. Once I get the names of the songs and artists down, I will share with you all.
During Biology I sat next to Jonathan and he counted down to the actual minute I was born (1:32 pm). Then he whisper-sang 'happy birthday' to me (as well as the rest of my table) so Ms. Ludwig wouldn't notice. Hilarious.
After school I got to vote! I thought it was pretty awesome that I turned 18 on election day. It didn't exactly turn out as planned, however. When I signed in, or whatever it is that you do, I went to the little machine you vote on and put in my card. Then a weird clicking sound clicked and my screen told me to talk to the attendant. Oh boy. I ended up having to go back to the sign in table and reset my card, with all the little old ladies saying, "this is quite the experience for your first time voting," and, "well this hasn't happened before!" and, "what a nice birthday gift for you." To top it off, two of them sang happy birthday to me (that would be the 8th time of the day). My mom had no idea what was going on through all this. Quite a funny experience. The sticker definitely made it worth it though.
Later that night I had musical dress/tech rehearsal. Hayden and I share a birthday and our mommy's brought treats for everyone! I didn't know Mom was bringing anything, so I was happily surprised when she walked in with donuts (the good kind from Dick's) and Kelsey started repeating over and over, "Jessica! It's your birthday! Your mom's here! Your mom brought donuts!" It made rehearsal much more enjoyable. I got lots of hugs ;) and was sung to a total of 9 times throughout the day. I never knew being sung to could make you so happy. It was a fantastic birthday thanks to all my lovely friends and family. I'm thinkin' 18's gonna be a good year. :)
