30!!! Bleh....

So I turned 30 on April 22. It wasn't as terrible as I thought it would be....I hear 31 is the bad one. I got to celebrate my birthday on 3 different days. How fantastic is that?

BIRTHDAY DAY #1
On Wednesday, my parents were coming through town on their way to Ashley's graduations (congratulations Ashley! she just graduated from BYU). We met at Sonora Grill in Ogden for dinner. Melanie, Ben and Oliver met us there too. It was great to spend time with family....and the food is delicious. If you are ever in Ogden, check out Sonora Grill. Thanks for meeting up with us for dinner. It's always great to see family.









In my attempt to be healthy this year...I made Black Bean Chocolate Cupcakes for everyone. They were really good. I would definitely make them again. Here is the recipe. I got it from this blog.

Ingredients:
1-15 ounce can of unseasoned black beans
5 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
6 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon water

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9" pan.

Drain and rinse beans in a strainer or colander. Shake off excess water. Place beans, 3 of the eggs, vanilla and salt into blender. Blend on high until beans are completely liquefied. No lumps! Whisk together cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder. Beat butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Add remaining two eggs, beating for a minute after each addition. Pour bean batter into egg mixture and mix. Finally, stir in cocoa powder and water, and beat the batter on high for one minute, until smooth. Scrape batter into pan and smooth the top. Grip pan firmly by the edges and rap it on the counter a few times to pop any air bubbles.

Bake for 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Cake is done with the top is rounded and firm to the touch. After 10 minutes, turn out cake from pan, and flip over again on to a cooling rack. Let cool until cake reaches room temperature, then cover in plastic wrap or with cake dome. For BEST flavor, let cake sit over night. I promise this cake will not have a hint of beaniness after letting it sit for eight hours!

BIRTHDAY DAY #2
On thursday, my birthday, Caleb and I just hung out all day. It was such a great day. We haven't been able to do that in forever with us both being so busy. We slept in and relaxed during the day...watched a movie in the afternoon. Then, we went to the Aquarium in Sandy. It was fun. They have a penguin exhibit that was fun to watch. After that we went to dinner at Benihana (I had a coupon for my birthday). We saw "How to Train Your Dragon" after dinner. It was so fantastic! I had heard it was a good movie, but Caleb and I loved it. It was a lot of fun. Then, we met up with some friends at the Urban Lounge for a concert. It was such a great day. Nice to not worry about work or anything else and just have a day relaxing and hanging out. Thanks for such a great day Caleb!

BIRTHDAY DAY #3
On Saturday, I met up with Mindy for our play for the month. We saw 42nd Street. It was a fun play to watch...a good one to end the play season on.



After the play, we went to Memory Grove and just took a walk and chatted. It was such a beautiful day...perfect for a walk in the park.



Then we met up with Maria at Trio for dinner. None of us had been there before. It was a fun little restaurant. We had delicious apple crisp for dessert.




After dinner, we went to Kilby Court to see Mindy's friend Jonah play. It was a fun show. Jonah is from Sacramento where Mindy grew up. He used to be in the band Far...that broke off from the Deftones. He just played a fun acoustic set. It was a great time. Mindy thanks for such a great birthday!



What a great Birthday! 30 isn't so bad.