#ashleysfun25

Last year I mentioned how my birthday was not very exciting. I detailed the fact that birthday celebrations are not Russ's strong suit, and I'm not even very good at making fun plans for my own birthday. I vowed that this year would be different! And I followed through.

I've said it before and I'll say it again -- I shamelessly celebrate my own birthday. I think it's the one day of the year where it's okay to be completely selfish (but obviously still kind). For that reason, when I started seeing things on Pinterest and other social media outlets about people who celebrate their "birthday week" or "birthday month," I thought that was awesome! And I thought it would be fun to not only do that for myself, but also for the family Russ and I are building together. I tucked it away as a tradition for the future.

So this year, a month or two before my birthday, I was listening to the Happier podcast (by Gretchen Rubin & Liz Craft). In one of the episodes I listened to, they talked about "doing a bootcamp" (episode 33). They defined a bootcamp as basically putting a lot of effort or energy into something for a short period of time; you can't do a bootcamp always because it's not sustainable, but it can be a good way to get closer to a goal or something. Among others, some of the examples of bootcamps they gave were a month writing an entire novel for NaNoWriMo, a relaxation bootcamp, a diet or exercise program, and a "fun" bootcamp.

When they said that, I decided that's what I was going to do for my birthday this year -- pack the month with fun! So I decided to fit twenty-five different fun things into the month of May to really celebrate my birthday and do some things for myself. I planned several of the items in advance, but some of them were spontaneous. It was actually quite hard to do so many different things because almost everything I could think of costs money in some way or another -- whether it's the price of a massage, the price of lunch when going out with a friend, or the price of crafting supplies! All of my birthday money from parents and grandparents this year definitely went toward all my fun! But I'm okay with it, because now my 25th birthday is memorable, and I spent the money on lots of things that made me happy :) I only got to 23, but I'm okay with that. I could have kept going into June, but I was a little wiped from all the planning of fun things! Haha 😂

So here are my 23 fun things!

#1 - Bleach a streak of my hair. I needed something new :)

#2 - Get out of the house for a playdate with Katie Andrews and her girls. No pics with anyone else, but here's a cute one of Ada playing with their toys!

#3 - Go out to lunch with Kalynn. We have talked about getting together for so long, so I finally set a date and we made it happen!

#4 - Create a birthday mantle. This involved crafting (the cupcake liner garland) and decorating (the whole mantle), which are two of my favorite things!
#5 - Go to a movie with Russ. We hadn't been to one together since Ada was in the NICU.

#6 - Dance Company reunion workshop. This annual tradition was going to be in April, but when it got moved to May I felt great about counting it as one of my fun things :)

#7 - Paint the front door. Finishing home projects always makes me happy!

#8 - Get a massage. I got a lot of massages during my pregnancy because we got into a car accident so insurance paid for chiropractic adjustments and massages. I loved them so much! (I mean, obviously.) I got one the day before I delivered Ada, and I've been talking about getting another ever since then (I thought I would get it closer to having Ada, but that never happened). I finally made it happen!

#10 - Mid-week date night with Russ. We were planning to go to the temple, but Russ said he just really wanted to be with me because he had to work the previous evening and felt like we hadn't had any alone time lately. So Ada went down for the night at my parents' house and Russ and I went out. He started teaching me how to drive a stick shift 😂  and then we went our for our first treat post-Whole30! It wasn't that good, and I think I'm officially done with Cazookies from The Chocolate (it's more the ice cream's fault than the cookie . . . their vanilla is just so gross!).

#11 - We had our inaugural bonfire in our backyard fire pit! With some friends of ours from an old ward -- Brad & Carly Hansen and Taylor and Katie Larsen. We roasted hot dogs and s'mores and we laughed and caught up. It was a good time, and I made literally the best s'more I've ever had in my life! The marshmallow was perfect which perfectly melted the chocolate and it was just perfection :)

#12-#14 - I got together with my high school and college bestie and we had ourselves a little marathon date. We got Kronuts from Bianca's La Petite Bakery, lunch from Wild Zucchini, and we got mani/pedis. It was fun to catch up with Ash and to eat good food and get pampered at the same time!

#15 - Try Chip Cookies. They're these pretty hyped up cookies in Provo. They are HUGE, and they're definitely tasty. However, they are crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, and I like my cookies chewy throughout, so they weren't the bomb.com for me. Also, they're so big that after a while they're just too much! You have to buy at least four cookies (one box), so the first night Russ and I each ate one, but then I froze the remaining two both cut in half and all in individual bags (so four separate halves) for whenever we want them again.

#16 - We took a road trip to St. George! We stayed with my friend from high school (Danielle) and her husband, and it was so great to get away and to spend some time with friends! I already can't wait for our next trip down there :)

#17 - We met up with my {no longer a} blogger bestie and her husband for custard while we were in St. George. Laynah and I spent a whole weekend in Vegas together back in 2015, and we all met each other briefly later that year, but this was the first time that we really spent any time together getting to know husbands and stuff. It was super fun and I'm excited to do it again sometime!
#18 - We hiked Angels Landing in Zion with Danielle (Damon had to work). I even carted Ada to the top! 💪

#19 - Last year, my cousin and good friend, Talyn, and I worked like half a mile apart, so we would meet up almost every day for lunch and a walk. This kept me SANE while I worked 40 hour weeks. Since having Ada, I haven't been back to have lunch, but we made it happen for #ashleysfun25. And it was just like old times! Except that Ada was strapped to Kristalyn in a carrier instead of being inside my big belly. I have to say, this walk was much easier than our walks toward the end of my pregnancy were! 😂

#20 - Spend some time with Lacey. Originally the plan was to spend the night at her house, but that ended up not happening. We just chatted and took a walk around her neighborhood. We forgot to snap a pic while together, though.
#21 - Birthday breakfast at the Little America hotel. I love this quality buffet, as evidenced by THREE previous posts detailing how great it is (Christmas experience 2015, babymoon, Christmas experience 2016). My parents take all the adults out to dinner for each person's birthday, and the birthday person gets to choose the restaurant. My choice was a bit inconvenient for everyone since it's in Salt Lake, so it ended up just being my parents and Russ and me. But my favorite buffet breakfast did not disappoint :)

#22 - On Memorial Day, Russ and I hiked the Y with Miss Ada. Maybe it was just because I wasn't carrying Ada, but the hike was A LOT easier than Angels Landing. It's a much shorter hike, which makes it easier, but it's also a steeper hike, so that makes it harder.

#23 - A few months ago, I told my mom I wanted to have a weekly scrapbooking date. I always look forward to Wednesdays since I get to spend them scrapbooking with my mom! I meant to snap a pic each Wednesday in May, but it never did end up happening.