Google Today, SkyNet Tomorrow: My Birthday Edition

I was surprised to see this when I fired up the ol' Lappy 486 yesterday:

Yes, it's probably just based on a simple date in my Google+ profile (yes, I have one. no, I don't use it. yes, I'm still ashamed to have one), but it's nonetheless indicative of the coming SkyNet takeover.

And yet, I still like that it was a screen just for me.

So thanks, Google, for personalizing my internet experience yesterday.
And even more, thanks to all of you who made it a great day by wishing me a happy birthday through calls, texts, in-person greetings, and Facebook wall posts!

I'm who I am today because of all of you! Muchas gracias!

Never Too Old for Prom

My last prom was 14-ish years ago.

I had a great time that evening, I really did.
But I'd figured that would be my last prom (unless I chaperone future kids' proms).

Not so, Aaron. Not so.

My friend Melinda invited me to be her date for a prom-themed birthday in the Bay Area, and there is no way I could pass up such a fun opportunity.

So I took TRAX out to the SLC airport, and flew to Oakland.
Sidenote: It's super awesome that mass transit has reached the airport, but UTA needs to extend the weekend hours.

We had a tasty tapas-style lunch on the patio at a beautiful winery, and then practiced a prom pose for later that evening. What do you think? Don't worry, we had a couple other poses in mind for picture time.

After eating, it was time to start prepping for the big night.
So Melinda got her hair did.

She maybe didn't love how tight it was, so her roommate Sarah saved the day by taking out the 'do and replacing it with a loose, fun sort of ponytail.

Next was makeup, and I sat in a park and listened to some local bands while Melinda got this done:
Hubba hubba, am I right?! Yes, I was lucky to be on her arm all night.

We headed into the city, and the party was just getting going when we arrived.
In fact, we arrived just in time for Melinda to help the birthday girl with her grand entrance.

The ladies "brunch bunch", minus one member who was out of town

We did a whole lotta socializing and a whole lotta dancing, and apparently we also picked a great color to match each other as well as other couples at the party.

Our twin couple (he is also named Aaron, and they're rocking the teal too)

And no prom night would be quite fulfilled if we didn't do some prom posing.
Here are a couple classic poses. Which do you like more?
The trip was a short one, but we had so much fun celebrating and rockin' our fancy outfits.

I had to take a pic on the flight back to SLC

Who knows when I'll have another chance to wear a tuxedo and dance the night away, but I hope it's as entertaining as this prom-themed birthday. Thanks again for such a fun time, Melinda!

Not Invited, But Thanks for Asking

It's always an eye-opener to receive a text message like this:

"I'm a little offended you aren't at [insert a good friend's name]'s birthday dinner! I hope you have a good excuse :)"

Especially when this is the answer you can honestly, albeit painfully, respond with:

"I wasn't invited. Is that a good enough excuse?"

Ouch.
It hurts not to be invited.

If I had never known about it, I'd have been fine.
I actually figured all the birthday celebrations had been earlier in the weekend.

Sigh.

Update for concerned readers: I was hurt initially and am still sad that I missed out on the fun, but I figured (and it has now been confirmed) that my not being invited was due to mis-communication between the birthday individual and those planning the dinner, not due to an intentional act of exclusion.

This Year's 4th of July Fun

As always, it was another action-packed celebration of our country's independence.

I'm not going to bore you with all the details; I'll just give short snippets and let pics do most of my talking.

Nana Bett's 4th of July Birthday
The Cravens came over to my parents' house, and we had a BBQ and birthday celebration for my grandma. Love getting together with the cousins, and it's so much fun with even more little kids around.

Ready to blow out her birthday candles

The whole gang

This is more representative of how we usually act

Stadium of Fire
In the evening, I went down to Provo with friends for the concert and fireworks. Carly Rae Jepsen was underwhelming and Kelly Clarkson was passable. Cirque du Soleil and the fireworks were the real winners of the show. Oh, and shakes at the Malt Shoppe after was a great call, too.

Skydivers brought Old Glory into the stadium

Clever and innovative tube dancing

Our enthusiastic group, ready for the action to begin

The bombs bursting in air

Happy Birthday to Me, from The Beatles

You say it's your birthday? It's my birthday, too, yeah!

We're gonna have a good time!

Happy Birthday to My Sweet Emily!

Today we're celebrating Emily's birthday (I won't put the number, because I don't think she'd like that).

I'm so lucky to have her in my life, and she's got so many wonderful talents and characteristics.

Here are a few of those abilities, shared through pictures of our adventures:

She has a lovely French accent, even when just reading a crepe menu.

She can write poems and lyrics.

She loves history and historical sites.

She speaks her mind and doesn't pull her punches.

She's so nice; definitely right at the top of Santa's list.

She's tough enough to go paintballing in the morning...

... and then classy enough for a holiday work party that night.
And clearly she cleans up real nice, too.
[Note: we were definitely the stars of that holiday party.]

She doesn't mind getting wacky with me and donning an ugly sweater.

She can slow dance...

...and then make Michael Jackson jealous with her skills.

She's a good aim with silly string?
I dunno, but I just really like this picture.

She enjoys watching sports with me.

She's very cosmopolitan, and even happy to help me make my first short film.

She is graceful and indulges my love of photo ops.

And you have to admit that we just look dang good together.

You're the yin to my yang.

Happy birthday, Emily! Thank you for letting me share it with you, and I hope it's unforgettable!