The Real Birthday Update

Since this update pertains to activities that Todd and I did together (instead of my own randomness), I'm going to post it in this blog. Todd did an amazing job coming up with ideas and activities to do on my birthday and I thought that I would share those with you.

June 19th was a whirlwind of a day for me. When I woke up, Todd promptly declared that he wanted to make breakfast for me. Unfortunately for him, our refrigerator is getting a bit low on food (since we're heading out of town this upcoming week and we don't want nasty surprises growing in our refrigerator when we come back). This didn't deter him, though. He made me a piece of toast out of the new flax and sunflower seed bread recipe we had made the night before (side-note: We're getting quite proficient at making bread now and some of the new recipes we're trying are really amazing!). It was an excellent way to start the day.

After eating breakfast, we donned our swimsuits, made sandwiches for lunch, and prepared for our trip to the water park. We had settled on Wet n' Wild, which is a water park in the north part of Phoenix. We arrived shortly after the park opened and set our bag of stuff down (it only had a t-shirt and our water bottle in it, so we didn't want to buy a locker for it). The temperature went into the 100's that day (and very hot even in the morning at 10:15 when we arrived), so we made sure to stay hydrated. All of the lines at the water park had water misters to help cool down waiting riders. Even so, we saw two girls faint in the heat. It creates quite a stir when someone suddenly collapses in line - several lifeguards and EMTs are on the spot in mere moments. Both incidents served as reminders for us to make sure that we drank plenty of water!

Here are some pictures of some of the slides we went down. Please note that since we entered the park with only the essentials (and nothing we would be devastated to lose if our bag got stolen), we did not bring our camera. However, several other visitors have taken pictures and kindly posted them so I'm linking to their pictures to allow you to see what we did.

This picture to the left is called Mammoth Falls. You go down in a six person tube and that drop there is AMAZING! Our bottoms actually left the tube a little on the way down. The line was really long by the time that we got to this ride, so we only went down it once. But it tied with Maximum Velocity (dueling water-coaster, the world's first!) as my favorite ride.

Here's a map of the park so that you can get an idea of how many slides there are and the layout of everything. The Tornado (in the upper right corner) was a lot of fun. Mammoth Falls is in the lower left corner. And Maximum Velocity is in the upper left corner.

If you want a first person perspective on the water park, I would recommend checking out youtube. I found this video (how one takes a video of water slide rides is beyond me!) that shows the rides Todd and I went on. The Maximum Velocity part will at least give you an idea of how a water-coaster works. Oh yes, and pay attention to what he does with his flip-flops before the Mammoth Falls ride! That was a life-saver for us because you definitely don't want to walk on the pavement when it's over 100 degrees outside!

Needless to say (though I'm going to say it anyway because that's how I am), the water park was a ton of fun. We spent about 5 hours there (from 10:30 until 3:30) with a small break at 12:30 for our delicious sandwiches.

After we got home, both Todd and I jumped in our pool for a little more swimming. It's amazing to smell the difference between our pool and a public pool. Despite how fun the wave pool at the water park might be, there was this odor of chlorine around the pool that wasn't enjoyable at all. We're a little spoiled that we have our own little pool in the backyard that doesn't need to the ghastly amounts of chlorine a public pool does!

Swimming didn't take long, since we had more to do that day! We showered and got dressed up for dinner - but before we left the house I got to open gifts. A lot of people sent very thoughtful and wonderful cards (thank you!) and I even got a very pretty Arizona candle with a desert scene on it. Todd got me a new phone, which I've been playing with ever since. I want to thank everyone - not just for gifts, but for the thoughtful and kind birthday wishes. It really means a lot to me to be surrounded by such wonderful and amazing friends and family! Thank you!

Gifts opened, Todd and I made our way to dinner. We ate at Rancho De Tia Rosa, which Urbanspoon.com rates as the number one restaurant in Mesa. Not only is it number one, but it's very affordable! We both had delicious and filling dinners. Even Todd couldn't think about dessert because he was too full. That's when you know they give you a lot of food! So we went home, changed again, and then went out at about 9:30 to Mill Ave., a local street with a lot of things going on. We went to several different clubs throughout the night ( for all you locals, they were: Vintage, Whip Lounge, Cherry, the Tavern) and had fun dancing the night away. We returned home late, I made a quick blog post on my blog about birthdays, and then it was time for bed.

Overall, it was an amazing birthday. I'm blessed to have such a thoughtful husband who worked so hard to make sure that my day was really special.