Birthdays as a kid
I think the first birthday I remember is my 5th, (I think...I need to check with Mom on that), when we had my entire preschool class over in our basement. I honestly don't know if it was my 5th or 4th birthday, and I don't know if I actually remember it or if I've seen the video and heard the stories enough times that it is stuck in my memory. My mom loves to tell the story about how all the parents of the other kids just dropped their kids off and my parents were left alone with the whole class. Haha. I know there was a mermaid piñata at this party, and I THINK this is the party where these twin boys ripped the boobs off. I love that story. I wonder what happened to those boys.
I remember several gymnastics parties as a kid, (obviously). We would usually just go to open gym and then come home and do cake and gifts.
I had a LOT of sleepover birthday parties as a kid too. I remember a lot of nail painting and giggling and not a lot of sleeping. The good old days. :)
Every single year that I can remember as a kid, probably up through high school, we went out to Mexican for my birthday dinner. For a long, long time it was Chi-Chi's. Remember that place? I LOVED it. I know this is shocking!
When we moved to Ky, it flooded on my birthday pretty much every year. The joys of March in Kentucky I guess. I remember one party where we had to take everyone home because it was flooding, and it was terrifying. Luckily everyone made it home safely, no worse for the wear. Yikes.
I have always had ice cream cake for birthdays. That's just what we did in my family, if it was your birthday, there was gonna be an ice cream cake with your name on it! This tradition has carried on through adulthood, although the quality of a DQ ice cream cake has really gone down hill in the last couple of years. Wah wah.
I have great memories of my birthday as a kid. It was always a fun and exciting day, and I feel really lucky that I always had friends and family to spend birthdays with!!
Birthday at Grandma and Papa's...I was probably 8 or so
Math Blaster! Best.Game.Ever.
Obviously I was excited for some cake!
Teenage Birthdays
The birthday that stands out for me the most in my teenage years is my 16th. That's probably true for everyone huh? I remember getting my permit, I was so nervous taking that test!! Mom let me drive down Cardinal Drive back to school, and I remember not being able to keep the car straight and nearly driving off the side of the road. Haha. I also remember my Dad letting me drive home either that afternoon or the next, down the bypass in Georgetown, through a TSUNAMI. Okay, not a tsunami, per se, but it was raining REALLY hard and I was freaking out. It's all good, I eventually learned to drive with no problem. :) My present that year was a trip to the Mall of America with my mom, 4 of my friends, and a family friend. That was such a fun trip. We shopped until we dropped. We also made a music video, and I am pretty sure everyone but me has a copy. Great memories!
I always hated going to school on my birthday, but I remember my cousin bringing me balloons one time, and that was AWESOME and I felt so special all day. I loved going to school with her. :)
Another teenage birthday that sticks out in my mind is my 18th. My parents actually let me have an unsupervised party, (I'm sorry to anyone who's parents didn't know this and are finding out now..it was innocent! Teehee). I felt so cool, I still remember what I wore, I got a shirt especially for this party and wore a jean skirt that I would never have worn otherwise. We moved all the furniture out of the living room, turned off the lights, (probably had a disco ball), and had a dance party. It was so much fun. I remember dancing with Ben to "Yeah" by Usher. Hahaha. There were a bunch of people there, and I remember some people making out going on on our porch. (Not me of course!). Other than that, it was a completely innocent dance party. We did break a picture frame doing the cha cha slide. It fell off the mantel when we did "6 hops this time!". I am still smiling now, just thinking of how much fun that party was. I can't find a picture of this, but I know someone has one and should probably post it for TBT. (Kate, I'm looking at you!)
16 years old!
Mall of America trip!
Birthdays in my 20's
It's still freaking me out that I've had enough birthdays in my 20's for this to be a category. Obviously 20, 21, and 22 are a total blur, like most of college. I have no memory of my 20th birthday. Anyone? I remember going to Wick's on my 21st and having a Long Island Iced Tea. Or 4. I had a test the next day and I got a C despite my horrible hangover. Still proud of that! =P My 22nd birthday was spent at Old Chicago. There were a lot of people there, and I remember feeling very loved. Plus I LOVE Old Chicago. I wish there was one here!
After college the birthdays became really....calm. I remember 24, the first birthday we were in Indiana. Ben worked, and my family came to visit me. 25 was an amazing birthday, because we closed on our new house and moved in the weekend of my birthday! My family and in-laws were in town, and I remember having ice cream cake (of course) in the new place. It hurts my heart to think of that now, we are REALLY missing our house...but that's a post for another day.
Last year a few of my girlfriends came to visit, because of course, Ben was out of town. We had a super fun weekend, other than the snow storm the day everyone had to leave. That's the difference between Indiana and Kentucky. On my birthday in Ky=floods. Birthday in Indy=Snow storm.
My birthday today, the first one in North Carolina, has been great. The weather, omg, the weather. It is a spectacular day. The sun is shining so bright, and it is a perfect 74 degrees. This is probably the first birthday I've had in a long time, maybe forever, that I wasn't with someone all day. Even last year I spent the day nannying so I was with the girls. I've just been by myself today, and that's fine. I had my favorite Qdoba for lunch and got the world's greatest pedicure. My dear husband is on his way now, and we are going out for dinner. He will be home this weekend for more birthday celebrations, and for that I am so grateful!!
I am blessed to have had 27 amazing birthdays, but I can't help but think of how close 30 is. It is SO close. I remember when my Mom was 30!! Agggh! I am really terrified to be 30, and I'm not sure why. I guess I'll feel like I have to actually be an adult? I don't feel like an adult yet!!
Thanks for reading y'all, here are some more birthday pics!!
I think this may have been my 21st..
19th...
21st..
24th!