Maturity does not always come with age

Two weeks ago, D and I drove 6 hours from Midland to Elk City to spend the weekend with friends for D's 29th birthday.  D and Clif share June 10th as their birthday (as does my mom and my Aunt Nora) and Amber's birthday is June 9th.  Since Clif and Jessee just moved into the new house that they spent the last 8 months slaving over every detail in the construction process, they kindly hosted us all for the weekend.  Friday night we took it easy and grilled out.

Just the girls.  From left: Jessee, Sheena, Olivia, me, Michele and Amber.

Clif and D took the Razor out for a ride.  I'm always a little scared when D agrees to participate in playing with Clif because there is a good chance it could end with a broken bone, medical or dental bill.  Luckily, they both walked away in one piece.

On Saturday, we spent the day at the pond enjoying the sun and the birthday party honoring Amber, Clif and D was that evening.  D and I got an extra special treat that night.  Our friends John and Aleisha Argo were able to leave their kids with Aleisha's parents for a free night with us!

Scott, D and Clif making fun of how girls pose for photos.

Jessee and I

Amber, Michele and Sheena

Arrash and Josh

Jessee, me and Melissa

So glad Aleisha and John could come out and play with us!

This has been a running joke now for a while.  D and this wooden statute have the same nose!  

Clif and D

John and D

Aleisha and I took Clif's hummer golf cart out of an evening stroll.

From left: Melissa, Amber, Sheena, Jessee, Aleisha and me.

Since Jessee is the hostess with the mostest, she had individual cakes made for the birthday kids.  As is typical with our group, a food fight ensued.  So that begs the question, does another year require better behavior?  I think not.  How else does one stay young at heart?  Despite my occasional rants saying otherwise, I feel fortunate to have married a man that has the ability to keep it young.    

This is my favorite picture of the bunch.  It captures the split second before Clif realizes what is about to happen.

D said, "Don't worry, I caught the cake with my eye."  LOL

All's well that ends well.

So, I believe I have learned a lesson coming into my 29th birthday.  I have been fearing turning another year closer to 30.  But, I now believe it is something to embrace.  You are only as old as you feel and I still feel 25 years young.  It is hard for me to believe I have reached the benchmarks I have: married 4 years, with D for 11 years, undergrad and law school, 5 moves in 4 years, 2 cats & 2 dogs, and more memories than I can keep track of.  I have lived a blessed life and look forward to my next birthday.  You never know when it could be your last.  So I challenge all of you to consider this and think about doing something "young" before your next birthday.

Until next time,  XOXO