Sometimes the stars align and everything falls on the same day/week. Jordan and I had already anticipated that my birthday would fall smack dab in the middle of his summer semester finals, what we didn’t expect was that his cousin would get married on that same day in a whole other city/state (Denver, Colorado)! We are really close with our family and decided that there was no way we would miss his cousin’s wedding. So we bought our tickets and rented a car for the day. Birthdays are like a huge deal to me and though I wanted to have an adventure of something new, I quickly decided to put those dreams aside and down play my birthday.
Getting there
Our 5am flight landed in Denver about 7am and we were already hungry and tired. Jordan and I rented a car through Turo (an AirBnB-like experience for cars, use this link to get $25 off your first trip) and were eager to try driving the car we rented: a Toyota 4Runner. Jordan’s mum, sister, brother and brother’s girlfriend ended up catching the same flight as us so we drove them to their next stop.
The only thing I insisted on doing was hitting up VooDoo Doughnuts, since it was something of a tradition for Jordan and I. They are so delicious! I love the Oreo ones and banana fritter. Everyone purchased a doughnut or like us some for the road and we were back off towards Jordan’s sister, Emily’s home.
Arriving at Emily’s we visited for minute and It was so much fun to see our niece’s Charlie & Cooper. I feel like every time I see them they have grown so much! I love how Cooper chatters away–she sounds like a young adult! We visited briefly and as most of Jordan’s family took a nap or went to the store, Jordan and I ventured out for lunch. Jordan happened upon Raising Cane’s! Jordan and I LOVE Raising Cane’s! There isn’t a store in Utah but every time we drive through Vegas we have to stop.. it might be an addiction! We ate lunch and chatted then headed to the Denver Temple (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). Jordan and I walked around the temple grounds and I took many photos. I had never been there before and was happy to have some peace on such a busy day.
Family time
We soon met up with his family at the temple and attended the sealing. One of the many things I love about my faith is that we believe marriage can be for all time and eternity if the couple is sealed together by the proper authority in the house of the Lord (i.e. a temple). After the sealing, we took photos and chatted with all of Jordan’s family. It was fun catching up and laughing with all of them.
We went back to Jordan’s Uncle Nate’s home and enjoyed a meal with our family. I was so lucky to enjoy Raising Cane’s once again! Uncle Nate’s wonderful wife, Shauna, made cookies and brownies and the whole lot of them sang me happy birthday. Though the day felt rough initially, after attending the temple I felt all of our moods were lightened. What a blessing it is to be with family!
Headed home
We caught a 10 o’clock plane back to Salt Lake. I felt bad that the same flight attendants on our 5am flight were on our 10pm flight. They recognized us and even offered me a free snack “on them” for my birthday. After landing in Salt Lake, now thoroughly exhausted, we giggled deliriously as Jordan drove us home.
It took several days to get back to 100% after being so thoroughly exhausted. I guess I am not as young as I once was, but when I was young I would have never travelled to anew city for the day.. the joys of growing older.
P.S. If you were interested in trying out Turo use this link to get $25 off your first trip!