Celebrating Life, One Birthday at a Time.

The older I get, the faster the years seem to fly by. I know it sounds cliché, but it’s the truth. This year, I turned 26 and I started thinking, “Wow, my sweet sixteen was a DECADE ago.” Ten years ago this week, I was applying for my driver’s permit and celebrating with a sleepover. Unlike most girls my age, I didn’t have a boyfriend and my best friend and I were obnoxiously joined at the hip. We were the same height, the same weight, the same size, and eventually we drove the same car (matching 1995 Saturns). We were essentially sisters, affectionately known as Kim & Mim.

 {me & Mim @ a school dance} 

December 2002

Age 16

Punxsutawney, PA

Little did I know, over the course of the next few years, I would get accepted to Penn State, pledge a sorority, live a semester abroad, land the job of my dreams, meet the love of my life, get married and move to the opposite side of the world.

It all seems surreal and each day, I thank God for the experiences I’ve had and the people I’ve met along the way… I often find myself getting nostalgic, so the other day, I spent a few hours perusing old photos and decided it would be fun to give you a glimpse into some of my previous birthdays… starting with my fourth!

BIRTHDAY #4

{me & mom}

September 1990

Punxsutawney, PA

BIRTHDAY #5

{me, Erika, JC, Danielle}

July 1991

Pittsburgh, PA

Every summer, all the cousins on my mom's side of the family would reunite for an annual birthday party and take turns blowing out the candles. Looking back, it’s absolutely gross to think of nine or ten kids blowing their spit all over a cake…and then eating it. When I “grow up” and have children of my own, I’ll be sure to have an extra cake on hand for the adults! Haha

 

{me & Danielle}

September 1991

Punxsutawney, PA

BIRTHDAY #7

{me, Jessica, Danielle}

September 1993

Puxsutawney, PA

As a kid, I always looked forward to my birthday because I always had a party and I always had a sleepover. And for some reason, I always seemed to get Barbie Dolls as gifts.

BIRTHDAY #12

{me, Deidre, Sarah}

September 1998

Punxsutawney, PA

Okay, this one is a bit embarrassing, but it had to be shared. Somehow I convinced my friends to play with the sheep on my farm during my birthday party. Deidre is holding Lambert, who was the lamb that, while suffering from pneumonia, became delirious, ran into a combine (a piece of farm equipment) and broke his neck. Miraculously, he survived and lived the rest of his life with a lopsided head and a semi-obstructed voicebox (imagine an extremely glottal “Baaaaaa”).

BIRTHDAY #18

{Megan, Jackie, Theresa, Autumn, Misti, Katie}

September 2004

Indiana, PA

This was the infamous day I became an adult... The photo was taken at IUP (Indiana University of Pennsylvania) with some of my best friends from high school. If I remember correctly, we spent the night acquainting ourselves with college life, aka the frat scene.

BIRTHDAY #19

 

{Jackie, Me, Theresa, Megan}

September 2005

Niagara Falls, Canada

Anyone who grew up in Pennsylvania or New York knows the legal imbibing age in Canada is 19... So what better way to celebrate my Canadian legality than with wine & waterfalls?

BIRTHDAY #21

{Jen, Amanda, me, Ashley, Nikki}

September 2007

State College, PA

This was obviously one of the most memorable. First of all, I was the last of all my friends to turn 21… basically the last senior at Penn State to be allowed into a bar. So you can only imagine how enthusiastic I was about this milestone…

The night before, my roommate organized a pregame at our apartment and then at midnight, we proceeded to some karaoke bar where I proudly climbed on stage and pretended I was Mariah Carey.

On my actual birthday, dinner was eaten at Red Lobster and drinks were “sampled” at both the G-Man and the Dark Horse. 

BIRTHDAY #23

{me & Kevin on the Riverwalk}

 September 2009

Savannah, GA

This was the first time celebrating my birthday with Kevin… I could tell he was a keeper because instead of just taking me out to dinner, he also planned a romantic weekend getaway for us in the charming city of Savannah, Georgia!

BIRTHDAY #24

 {me & Kevin} 

September 2010

Tuscaloosa, AL

In 2010, fate and football collided with PSU playing Alabama for the first time in twenty years. For those of you who know my husband, he graduated from Alabama, while I graduated from Penn State. When I found out the long-awaited game was on my birthday in Alabama (where I was working at the time), I was ecstatic! Of course, we bought tickets, tailgated all day, watched the game, then left the next morning for a Caribbean cruise.

BIRTHDAY #25

September 2011

San Angelo, TX

First birthday as a married woman… Kevin and I had just moved to Texas, we were still staying in a hotel, living out of a suitcase hundreds of miles away from home. We spent the day kayaking the Concho River, eating dinner at the Olive Garden and splitting a ginormous Strawberry Cheesequake from Dairy Queen.

BIRTHDAY #26

First birthday celebrated in Japan!

Wine & Cupcake party with a few of my female friends on the island...

{ladies of the 909th}

September 2012

Okinawa, Japan

{my next door neighbor, Alyssa}

{Ebony, Liberty, me, Alyssa, Cerrin}

Kevin also surprised me with a stunning rose & lily bouquet, cooked me macadamia nut pancakes with coconut syrup, gave me a gorgeous white & black diamond necklace, then took me out to a fancy schmancy seafood restaurant for dinner.

So, it’s hard to believe I’m 26… 10 years ago, it was an age I associated with being grown up, outdated and old… Haha

But now, not so much… My metabolism may be slower, but I am more motivated, disciplined, and energetic than I’ve ever been. I would say I’m finally in my prime…and embracing it!

Do not regret growing older.  It is a privilege denied to many.  ~Author Unknown

A man's age is something impressive, it sums up his life:  maturity reached slowly and against many obstacles, illnesses cured, griefs and despairs overcome, and unconscious risks taken; maturity formed through so many desires, hopes, regrets, forgotten things, loves.  A man's age represents a fine cargo of experiences and memories.  ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Wartime Writings 1939-1944, translated from French by Norah Purcell

A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.  ~John Barrymore


The other day a man asked me what I thought was the best time of life. "Why," I answered without a thought, "now."  ~David Grayson