Happppy Birrrrtthhday to ME!...Oh...and Happy Mother's Day to You!

So I just want to start off by saying that I have the BEST roommates and friends and of course cousin. My birthday was fantastic thanks to all of them and I hope they all know how much I love them. I wasn't too keen on celebrating my birthday away from home because I've always been with my family and I've come to miss them so dearly. I was worried my birthday would just be sad because I miss them. My wonderful friends stepped up to the plate though and they made it super fantastic. My birthday is actually today, but we've kind of been celebrating it all weekend. On Friday we went down to Idaho Falls and went to the mall. I got to buy some stuff with the money my mom sent me. Then we went to Reeeeeed Robin...YUM! and I had the most delicious hamburger I've ever eaten (that's saying something because I'm really not a hamburger fan) The waiters sang to me (I've never had that happen before) it was awkward but fun and I got everything I ate for free except the drink which Raeanne so graciously paid for, for me. It was a great night. We got home and they were going to give me my present until Davi was like “let’s just wait till next week and Bree can give you our present and you can give her hers at the same time” (Elle’s birthday is May 19^th just 11 days after mine, and yes I am super happy to be a whole 11 days older than her) well that idea did not fly with me. I didn’t want to wait, I’m super impatient.  So instead I just gave Elle her present 12 days early and she gave me mine. I am now the proud owner of the legit-est pair of Batman converse on this earth.

They are honestly so slick. The funny part is I got Elle a pair of shoes too. I got her a pair of sparkly black Toms. She said she liked them the last time we saw them and so that’s what I got her…I hope she really does like them. It was pretty funny though. I brought out an empty box and she opened it and was super confused and then I was like “For your birthday I got a pair of shoes for a poor little shoeless African child!” she was totally chill with it too. I don’t know if she really believed me though. (For those of you who don’t know about TOMS they donate a pair of shoes to someone in need every time you buy a pair) Then I brought out her shoes and gave them to her and she was happy. So that was fun. The next day, Saturday, Anson, Jessi, and I all went to Jackson Hole Wyoming. I’d never been before and my mom always talks about how much she loves it. So we went and walked around downtown Jackson Hole and saw cool stuff and shopped for souvenirs. Anson then proceeded to fork out quite a bit of money so that we could all take those old fashioned photos where they dress you up and put you in a setting and take your picture. It was super nice of him. We got ice cream and walked around for a bit more and went home. It was super fun. They have the COOLEST candy store there too. Wall to wall candy. Here are some pictures of our fun day! 

 (yes I realize I am immodest. That was the least revealing dress I could find...and I'm not drinking that Jack Daniels...just holding it.)

So yes. It was super exciting. It was a fantastic day and I'm grateful for all of my good friends. It was definitely a birthday to remember. Also I guess I should say Happy Mother's day to all of the mothers. My mom reads this I think...Happy Mother's day mom! I love you and I miss you super alot!.

MALAD...sort of rhymes with Salad

Oh Malad Idaho where I used to spend my Easter holidays with my parents and my great grandparents. Where we had apple battles in my great grandma's backyard with my Donny Osmond look-alike Great Uncle Mike, where I held a firecracker in my hand too long and it exploded. Such fond memories do I have of Malad. Well. Almost. To be honest it's one of the smallest towns I've been to in my life. You think Rexburg is small? Go to Malad, go ahead, have a laugh. There was never a whole lot to do, and when there wasn't other family there to keep you occupied, you definately started to go a little stir crazy. I do have good memories of it to be honest. For instance, I fondly remember going with my great grandpa to see some horses, I LOVE horses...by the way. I remember I got to pet them and my grandpa cut his thumb on some barbed wire. I can't have been that old. Probably not much older than 3...but I do remember it. It's one of the fondest memories I have of my great grandpa. It was because of that memory, when I was told of his passing, I cried like a little baby. It's a memory I'll never forget. I don't actually remember this next thing happening, but my parents like to bring it up. I guess I was a rambunctious little kid, I liked climbing into, on top of, and under things. My grandparents had a lovely fireplace and as all little kids do, I climbed right into it. My parents, seeing this as a problem(?!) would pull me back out and I have to start all over again and climb right back into the fireplace. I guess I got so frustrated at my repeated failed attempts to play in the dirty furnace that I turned to my dad and said "NO BILL" If any of you know my dad, those words...especially the one that starts with an N could get you beaten pretty bad and pretty quick. He especially won't tolerate children calling him Bill...understandable right? Well thanks to my cuteness I was spared his wrath and they probably all had a good laugh at the attitude which if retained till now would get me grounded for a month.

I bring up these stories because my Family Home Evening brothers (it's an LDS thing, ask me about it!) are all from Malad, save one. I kind of laughed about it when I first heard where they were from because I thought "no body's from Malad...they go there when they're old before they die."  Sure enough though, they were from Malad and they invited our apartment (or more, we invited ourselves) down to Malad for conference weekend. Most of the boys have some sort of farm and I suppose that is typical of most Malad inhabitants. Lots of farmland and farm animals. I love animals and so that is pretty exciting to me, but when I found out that one of our FHE brothers had horses I all but jumped and danced for joy. I was nothing less than ecstatic. I don't claim to be a horse expert, but I do love them and I'm nowhere near shy around them. I love to ride and I just think they are the most beautiful animals. We had a fantastic time riding them, it was definitely the highlight of my year. I'll post some pictures only if you promise to ignore the fact that my blond roots are coming in and my hair nearly matches the mane of the horse I rode. My horses' name was Texas but of course someone had to make fun of Texas and started calling him T-bag. For those of you poor souls who haven't had the pleasure to watch Prison Break I've included a picture of T-Bag below. In season 2 he bleaches his hair blond so as to not be captured by the "Poh-leese" anyway, as my hair has so gracefully demonstrated, his black roots started coming back in and he was left with a very lovely two-toned hair do for about 2 seasons. Texas is a buckskin horse and so his mane is part black, and part blond...ergo Texas christianed T-bag. I don't want to talk about it!

ANYWAY Texas was a beautiful horse even though his first impression was soiled by T-bag's less than like-able persona. We had a grand ole time and rode for a couple of hours until a storm chased us back indoors.

Overall we had a BLAST in Malad, we did a lot of driving around in the car because like I said, there really isn't a whole lot to do there. We were told some scary stories about places and happenings in Malad, we took field trips to those places and got the snot scared out of us. We learned how to make jam, we went cat hunting (calm down cat-lovers, we were unsuccessful) We drove some more...Oh! we left our mark on a tunnel

 OH DUH! We also got the wonderful opportunity to watch General Conference which was also FANTASTIC. That was the real highlight of the weekend. Conference is always great :) So yea Malad. Population 4,100, animal head count 7,000. Good times.

Food

I don't know if I'm the only one who feels this way...but I just LOVE food. I don't necessarily like the feeling of being full...in fact I quite dislike it. However, I love tasting food. I feel I have a very advanced palate. I love tasting new foods and I love re-tasting old foods. We went on a cruise and I got to taste a lot of new and delicious foods. That was really fantastic I really enjoyed that. I got to try sushi, lobster, calamari, escargot, and other lovely dishes. I even tried some rum cake...or at least that's what I was told it was after I'd already eaten it. No worries I'm not an alcoholic, it wasn't very good. In fact I didn't like it at all. Coming to college I was a little bit worried about not having my mother home to cook for me all the time. I'm not claiming to be a terrible cook. In fact I quite like to cook and I'm not too bad at it. I enjoy what I make at least, the problem is however, I don't always have a lot to work with. Everyone claims to have lived off of Ramen and pizza rolls their whole college experience and well, I just didn't want that to be me. Don't get me wrong. I do enjoy a good bowl of Ramen every once in a while, but I definitely didn't want to live off it. My taste buds need more excitement than that! I've really made it a goal to have real home cooked stuff at least once a week. My favorites thus far have been chicken enchiladas, spaghetti, and Steak and Potatoes. Just look at the deliciousness of this dish....

Yes I am aware that the knife on my plate is gigantic, but we as college students aren't necessarily able to afford high end commodities such as steak knives.

Does that not look fantastic? I'll be honest it tasted fantastic! It was a little to well done for my tastes however...it's rather difficult to cook a steak in an oven and still have it turn out decent. So you see, I love food and that will probably never stop, it is both a curse and a blessing. College hasn't turned out to be quite the culinary killer as I imagined and I will continue to enjoy the foods I love. 

Plasma. What is it Good For?

So here's the deal. I have been looking for a job to no avail. I have applied at countless venues. I have filled out WHO KNOWS how many applications, and I have pestered enough small business owners to earn my own "if this girl comes in I'm not here" warning sign. So needless to say I've been a little short on cash as of late. Well come to find out we have a plasma donation center here in Rexburg and for 50 dollars a week you can sell your plasma twice during a 7 day period. Well it sounded to me like they were basically handing out money for pretty much free. Sign me up right?! So it has now been a couple of weeks since I started selling my plasma and let me tell you...it's actually not been too bad. The first time mind you was in one word...Hell. I went in the first time. They make you go through a watered down physical....I had to pee in a cup. It was as unpleasant as it sounds. So I passed my physical with flying colors basically. It was kind of super awkward because the people that work there aren't a whole lot older than me...and they ask some pretty up close and personal questions that you don't typically announce to the general public. Anyway I get my finger all pricked (by the way that is arguably the worst part of donating plasma, you have to get your finger pricked each time so they can analyze your plasma and it never ceases to hurt like mad!) and then I go into this large sized room that is filled wall to wall with back to back reclining beds and well...it's super science-fictiony. They sit you down at a station and shove this giant needle into your arm (probably the circumference of a toothpick at the middle, maybe a little bit bigger) So obviously it stings a little, then you sit there for about 45-60 minutes and the machine takes your blood, filters out the plasma, puts your blood back into you and retains your plasma in a cylindrical bottle. Have you ever seen plasma? I guess for some reason I thought it would look super cool. Like a funky cool color, or something...maybe it was a kind of gossamer liquid. I couldn't have been more wrong. It is probably the nastiest looking liquid I've ever seen picture this. Your urine when you haven't had any water all day. So gross right? Yep that's what it looks like, it's a nasty brownish yellow color...it looks SO NASTY! Thinking about it kind of makes me want to barf. So back to the first time I gave. I was doing pretty good, I'd been going for about 30 minutes and my bottle was almost full enough that I could leave. I was feeling pretty proud of myself because I'd seen people go in way before me and they were still sitting there with not nearly as much plasma pumped as I had. So I was definitely the plasma champ of the day...until I was about to die. I've never actually fainted before in my whole life. I've never had that pre-fainting feeling where your vision gets all blurry and spotted and you feel all light headed. So needless to say when that started happening I literally thought that I was going to die. I was on the verge of death probably looking super pale and sweaty and one of the "doctors" came up to me. The following is a pretty accurate dramatization of the events the occurred.

Nurse:Are you feeling ok
Me: (about to barf) *shaking my head violently NO!* (bad idea)
Nurse: Do you feel sick?
Me: I think I'm dying
Nurse: Do you feel really hot?
Me: (shaking my head no because up to this point I didn't feel really hot, possibly because the air is up so high in that dang room in the first place I still had to thaw out. The shaking of my head quickly turns to nodding because all of the sudden I break out in a cold sweat, all of a sudden I'm super hot!)
Nurse: (calls another guy over therefore two more people come over (other guy has to feel important right?) One of them gets me an ice pack to put on my neck, the other guy gets me a small little cup of water)
Male Nurse: Drink this slowly.
Me: (inhales the water) Can I get one more please?
Pointless Nurse: Do you feel like you are going to throw up or pass out?
Me: Both
Pointless Nurse: You need to slow down your breathing, you are breathing too fast.
Me: (I try to breathe slower, but it doesn't really work out so hot, it basically stays at the same pace)
Pointless Nurse: Not slow enough, breathe with me, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale.
Me:(finally slow my breathing to a human rate.)
Pointless nurse: Oh good, you'll be fine.
Nurse: (is holding my arm making sure if I pass out my needle isn't ripped out of my arm) you'll be alright in a second I just have to hold your arm until you feel completely better. Don't worry this happens to alot of people their first time.

Oh Good! The way everyone was staring at me like a fish in a bowl I thought this was a random special occasion. It was super embarrassing. I felt weak. I also began to think that it almost never happens because every time I'm there I definitely look for that struggling newcomer so I can possibly meet their eye, give them a look of comfort, like "I've been where you are, it's going to be ok, you're going to pull through." I've only ever see one person react the way I did, once. Ever.

So after my little "episode" I had my roommate come pick me up from the plasma center, no way was I going to make it on foot. I had forgotten about a test that I needed to take and it was the last day my test was open so I had her drop me off at the testing center. The testing center has an unnecessarily long and steep set of stairs leading up to it. So of course when I finally reached the top after several pit stops along the way I pretty much felt sick to my stomach again. To my chagrin the line was out the door. 20 painful minutes later I was in the testing room with my test that I wasn't really ready to take in the first place. I sat down and begin filling out the questions. About 10 questions in I thought I was going to barf. You know how your mouth waters right before you barf and that's how you know? Well that's what was going on. I thought I was going to vomit all over my test. Not only would I have to pay the 5 dollars for ruining a test booklet but I would forever be embarrassed the rest of my life. I put my head down hoping that the feeling would pass. It subsided. I sat back up. It returned. I knew then that I was not going to be able to take my time and finish the test to the best of my ability. I circled C down the scantron, that's supposed to be the most used test answer is it not? I literally ran out the door into the bathroom and almost upchucked everywhere. I sat there with my face against the cool tile of the bathroom wall, not even caring what nastiness could be lurking there. I was miserable. I made it home, and pretty much didn't move the rest of the day.
 (this isn't actually my arm since they don't let you take pictures in there, but that's the gist of my Tuesdays and Thursdays)

Thankfully I have not had a repeat of my first time. I do feel a little lightheaded some days, but other than that no big deal. It's all good. I get 50 bucks in my pocket a week and I get to watch a movie every time I go. It's usually a pretty decent one too. However I would like a real job, SOON!

So....college....

IS FAN-FREAKIN-TASTIC! I kind of really love it. Admittedly I've already changed my major twice since my acceptance...but hey that's ok. I've decided graphic design isn't for me. I'm currently undecided, but to be honest I'll probably fall back to teaching. (yet again)

My roommates are super cool. I love them all. We all get along really well. I was kind of worried about it because I'm such a socially awkward person, but it's really been great. I've found my husband...well at least several candidates haha.
I have really enjoyed living away from home. I'm not saying I don't miss my family every day, I swear I do. I miss Kevin especially, he will be a year old before I can go home to see him. I just really like being independent and not having to answer to anyone. My grades are all good and I really like my classes...well I'm not a huge fan of American Foundations...but only because it's a really boring class to me. I've been able to see friends that I haven't seen in a while...although we don't get to hang out as much as I'd like to. I've made some good friends and it's just been a great experience thus far. I got my roommates hooked on the TV series Bones (oh you haven't seen it? DO IT NOW!) we are currently on season 5...yes we started on one of course! I've really enjoyed cooking my own food up here. It's been pretty delicious stuff. I was able to go down to Utah last weekend. It was a long drive but it was really fun. My cousin Anson and I drove down to see family. I got to see my best friends Sophie Lynn...that was fun. I was really craving some Chick Fil A. You'd think I'd be super tired of it after eating it almost every day for two years, but I definately miss it. The closest one to me is in Logan UT...about 140 miles away and just a little bit too far to go for fast food. So while we were in Utah I really wanted to eat there but I didn't get the chance to and I was really bummed out. I did see True Grit though, that was a pretty good movie. Well I'll try and get on here more often and keep you three up to date. I've got to get to bed though!

Destination: College!

I would first off like to tell everyone who already read my last post (or hasn't read it at all) to go back and read at the bottom, I had to add something I forgot and I think it'll make you smile.

So I don't know if everyone knows this, but I graduated last January (a semester before the rest of my class) I don't bring that up to brag, because I certainly didn't get to graduate early based on smarts. In reality I just happend to only need 3 more credits after my Junior year to graduate and so I took the second semester of the neccesary English credit during the summer and I was able to graduate a semester early. I bring this up because as some of you may not know I start my first semester of College in a couple of days. Why did I wait an entire year to start college you ask? Well let me tell you, I didn't choose to start school so late. In fact I'm probably half stupid by now because it's been an entire year that I've been out of school. I got accepted to BYU-I which I expect to be super fun and I'm really excited for it. In all reality I've been really ecstatic about it since Septemeber when all of my friends left me alone in Leander while they all went off to school and forgot about me. It's basically been torture to be home while all my friends were gone and not being able to talk about my wonderful college experience because for me there wasn't one. You see, BYU-I is on a three track system. The tracks are fall/winter, winter/spring, and fall/spring. I of course being the unlucky person that I am was selected for the winter/spring track. Oh good, not only do I have to wait a semester to go to school, but I also get to go to school during the coldest time of the year in Idaho. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there is a reason I had to wait. Maybe I'll find that my future husband is on the same track, or maybe some other meaningful thing will happen, but in the moment it's hard to think of that greater purpose when everyone but me is off having the time of their life. Looking back on the past few months I guess I have been blessed. I was able to save some money so that I could actually afford to go to school. If I'd had to go in the fall I wouldn't have had enough money for sure. I was able to become better friends with my new best buddy Chris Gross. I was able to meet some of the ladies in Relief society that are super cool. I was also able to get a puppy. Alright...well as I think of those things...I guess I'm actually super happy to be on the track that I am on. I would like to revoke all of the negative things I said about winter/spring track.......On another note...I start school on Jan. 5th and I'm really excited about it!

I liken going off to college to going off to Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry.

1.You get a letter of acceptance (unfortunately mine came by way of email and not owl).
2.You get a list of books that you need (granted none of mine are by Gilderoy Lockhart nor are any of them titled "BYU-I a history")
3.You get roomates (all of mine look pretty rad although we have an apartment and not our own tower)
4. You get to learn all kinds of new things (Chemistry is really just a fancy name for potions, Humanities?... or Muggle studies?!?)
5. There is a headmaster (alright, alright "Dean")
6. It's the best time of your life! (The party before you have to buckle down and work at the MoM or Dell or whatever you choose!)

So needless to say (a 5th time) I'M SO EXCITED!
I've already found out who my roomates are going to be. I know where I'm living. I got a bunch of college stuff for Christmas. I get to bring my car. I've decided I want to major in Graphic Design and I'm on my way there. I've got friends who will be up there as well. I'm excited to meet new people. I'm JUST READY!

CHRISTmas is here!

Well another lovely Christmas has come and gone oh so quickly. I feel like they go by faster and faster each year. I doubt you all know this, but I am a HUGE Christmas fan. I LOVE it! I start the waiting every year on the 26th of December, after 360 days I get SUPER excited. After all I'm SO close again. However the slow tedious days that lead up to December 20th go three times as fast from that point on and before I know it Christmas is over once again leaving me to wait all over. I don't know what it is. From a spritual standpoint Christmas is definately a major deal, after all it is the time we celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. That fact in itself is a reason to rejoice. Also (being Mormon) it is the month that the first prophet of this restored gospel was born. That's the birth of the man who brought forth the Book of Mormon and the power of the priesthood to us. December is quite an important month am I right? The monetary angle is maybe my least favorite. It's not that I don't enjoy spending money on the people I love. Believe me, I DO. It's just that I don't have a whole lot of it, and I tend to spend more than I can afford to. All my fault of course, but still it is an issue that I have. Another upside to Christmas is the Christmas spirit...or should I maybe say the idea of Christmas spirit. I'm not saying it doesn't exist, but I mean look at the facts! People have been waiting in lines all day, the traffic is bad (even worse if it snows where you live), stores have run out of items that you need to get for someone, and the list goes on. Working at a fast food place I know that most people at this time of year are NOT letting their Christmas spirit shine. It's even worse serving food to Christmas shoppers because not only are they already on their last nerve, but they are also HUNGRY! However there is some hope for the human race, last Christmas I was working in the drive-thru and a woman who was currently at the window offered to pay for the food of the customer behind her. I very nearly cried...and believe me I'm not a crier. I was just super touched at that. The same thing also happened this year (although not this month) and each car kept it going "oh he paid for my food?! How nice! I'll pay for whoever is behind me" I will admit I'd have probably said "well how much is the person's order behind me" and if it had been more than my own I might not have paid it. These people didn't even ask, they paid for the next vehicle's food even though more often that not it cost more. We kept that going for nearly ten cars! I was impressed to know that there is hope yet, that the human race isn't completely self-obsessed and driven by money. Aside from the people that are angry until Christmas day there are those who keep their cool and show those crazies that the true meaning of Christmas isn't in fact, lost. Last but not least is the aspect of family at Christmas. Christmas is a time for family. Family travels from far and wide to be together. Fortunately my family isn't old enough to be living apart quite yet and so I got to enjoy a wonderful Christmas with all of them. I almost forgot the importance of family togetherness at Christmas time when I was unwilling to sleep in the same room as my siblings. It has been a family tradition ever since I can remember sleeping in the same room with all of my cousins at grandma's house each year. This year I was reluctant to leave the comfort of my own bedroom to sleep elsewhere and I almost didn't sleep with them all. Mckelle however wouldn't let it go. She was adamant that we all sleep in the same room and finally I saw the light and we all slept in Skyler's bedroom. I may not have been the most comfortable all squashed in his not so large bed, but I was surrounded by my family, my best friends. Christmas morning followed the same pattern it does every year, I snuck downstairs around 4 am as I do every year. I've done the same thing for as long as I can remember. I used to sneak down to see if I could catch Santa filling my stocking, but to my surprise he'd been and gone before I knew it. Even now when I know the truth about Santa (that he can't be caught of course), I still love to sneak down and look at the shadows of all of the presents and the once empty stockings that are now stuffed to the brim with goodness. After my traditional sneak preview I went back to sleep as I do every year and wait for the time when we are actually allowed to wake my parents and start the morning (6 am). For the second time in 2 years we didn't wake up until well after 7. We called my mom
"can we come down now?"
 "No, new time is 10 am go back to bed till then"
"C'mon mom, for real"
"alright, give us 5 minutes"
we wait....it's been 5 minutes.
We go to the stairs and call down "now?"
Dad sees us all sitting at the top of the stairs just itching to come down "hold tight, not yet"
Dad cues up the Christmas music as he does every year and snaps a picture of us chomping at the bit to come down as he does every year. " Calm down you guys, is everyone up?"
"Yes dad!"
"alright you can come down"
we race down the stairs and rush to our stockings to see our spoils.
This year dad decides it would be a great idea to get some work out of us while we are in this anxious vulnerable state. "This year, we are going to fold a load of laundry before we open presents, then we'll each open one and do another load. We'll alternate a round of presents and a round of laundry"
We nervously laugh and I meet my mom's eyes "he's just kidding right"
She rolls her eyes as if to say "you know your father of course he is"
In comes dad carrying a laundry basket.
Oh yes, he's dead serious. He and my mom fold clothes into our different piles and we have to go put them away. At this point Jake starts to get a little angry.
"dad I'm not doing laundry!"
"Jake there's no reason to get upset"
"You're making me upset" now at this point poor little sensitive Jake has had about all he can handle he buries his face in his arms and starts crying.
Brynlee seeing that she isn't the center of attention exclaims
"this is the worst Christmas ever!"
By this point Skyler and I are silently laughing and beginning to wonder why our family is so odd.
At the end of the load of laundry dad begins handing out presents. We all get one and he says "time for another round of laundry" Mom looks at him a little disapprovingly and he laughs "not a good idea?" needless to say we didn't end up doing any more laundry, but we did get a memorable Christmas. I can just see the future family reunions.
"remember that one Christmas when dad tried to make us do chores in between the rounds of opening presents and everyone started crying?" Oh I love my family.

Overall it was a great Christmas as it is every year. We got a ping pong table (which Sky and I expertly put together) and a trampoline which will be put up as soon as Kevin learns not to eat everything in our backyard. I hope your Christmas was a merry one and I also hope you have a FANTASTIC New Year!

God bless us every one!

Addendum: I forgot to mention this earlier, but another thing that happened at Christmas was after we'd all unwrapped all of our presents my dad announced "OK and there are two more family presents out in the garage. There is also one more present for Bree and for mom" Of course we all go out to the garage. I already knew that the two family gifts were the ping pong table and the trampoline since I'd been present when my dad purchased them, but I was genuinely curious as to what my mother and I got. (you see every year I usually pick out all of my Christmas presents and so I'm rarely surprised on Christmas morning) Out in the garage my siblings are all celebrating the family gifts and my mom walks out and exclaims "Bill, you got me a new bike?!" My dad turned and stared at her for a second as if to find out she was just joking. After a short pause he said (slightly confused or perhaps a tad bit worried about my mother's sanity) "uh...yea...I got you...a new bike..." still probably waiting for her to say "just kidding!" She honestly thought that the bike she'd gotten probably about 3-4 years ago was her Christmas present. We all almost died of laughter. Granted my mom probably never rides her bike, and she claims that she thought the reflector was a tag that you'd find on a new bike. Even typing this up I still laugh at the memory. Poor mom was a little embarrassed and she only gets to relive that embarrassment every time I tell the story to various friends and family. I will definitely never forget that and for sure won't let her : )