let me tell you about markell. when i was ten years old i was terrified to move. i didn't know anyone in my new area and was convinced i wouldn't make any new friends. then one sunny afternoon, markell marched over to my house and asked if i'd like to go fly a kite with her and her friend becca. little did markell know that that was the beginning of an lifelong friendship. from that afternoon the two of us were basically inseparable as we maneuvered our way through adolescence into adulthood. markell is probably the sole reason i was able to make it through junior high and high school and actually enjoy it! haha we've had some great times together and i know there are many more to come :)

and guess who turned 21 yesterday??? markell!
to celebrate, markell, jordan, grace, tanner, brandon, and i went up to the natural rock slide. (nick couldn't come cause he had band practice...) then brandon took markell out to get dinner while jordan, grace, and i sneakily set up markell's surprise party. markell loves basically anything bright, sparkly, or cheetah printed, so we kinda went with that as a theme..and the whole party turned out great! the best part was that markell was actually surprised! the second best part was that i've never seen anyone so excited about cheetah print balloons...haha

here are some photos from the evening:






1. gettin ready
2. the brave first one to go
3. grace and jord trying not to freeze to death
4. tanner, grace, & brandon
5. markell being sung happy birthday to
6. the party planners