two decades! WOAH.

I guess now I have to start going to bed earlier, 

get up earlier, 

make some rules, 

and change my ways.

Since I'm "twenty", I should act like an adult now, right? 

I simply can't blame my "staying up late watching movies all night" on being a teenager anymore. 

*sigh* I didn't even realize how much I abused that negotiation. 

I'm still young.

but I do go to bed early, for the most part. 

So! Monday night we went out to eat at my FAVORITE restaurant! 

Umi's Japanese steak house! 

Daddy & I ordered the sushi, and as always I wanted a Volcano roll, and I let him pick one that I had never tried before, so we got the Tiger roll. 

 

It was DELISH!

(although I'm not sure if Mamma & Mimi would think so now that I'm mentioning that the Tiger roll was raw, but they loved it at the time. Sorry!) 

My sweet parents have made this such a wonderful weekend, and I am so incredibly blessed to call them mine. I am thankful for the relationship that we've grown into over the last few years, and I could not have hand picked better parents for me. 

They always make every moment that they can SO special for me, and I owe them a lifetime of thankfulness.

And you'll see me in the next few photos with my best friends, but Mimi isn't to be left out of that. She's always there for me, from my being at my lowest points to being the happiest red head alive. 

I cannot imagine life without her one call away. I have grown to love (even more) our visits when she comes over in the mornings and we lay in my bed talking about the way life is playing out. 

She is so full of wisdom & knowledge, and if I don't take her advice I usually look back and wish I had. When she hurts, I hurt, and vice versa. 

I just couldn't be more grateful for the family I have. 

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Saturday, my ACTUAL birthday, we left town around 8:00 and headed to Jackson to shop for the day. I have been loving getting new clothes, but I get REALLY excited about Fall clothing. I LOVE the Fall and Winter. I can't wait for it to turn cool where I can get scarves and sweatshirts back out. 

We ate lunch at Mellow Mushroom, and despite what any of you may think, it was incredible! 

Exactly what I was craving. 

Later, we got fro-yo from "Sweet CeCe's", and it's basically like a Smackers, Local Culture, or Yogurt Mountain. It was also quite tasty! :) 

We shopped until around 5:45 (I think?) I slept the entire way up there, as well as the entire way back. So, it seemed like it took us all of five minutes to return. 

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Sunday, Megan & Hollie carried on our new tradition by having a little birthday party for me. Last year we each decided we wanted cheesecake as our "birthday cake", but this year we all decided to do ACTUAL birthday cake, and I have been looking forward to it all week! 

We rode out to Megan's around 1:00, and we caught up on all we had been missing with each other. 

Another perk to it being YOUR birthday is that you get to pick four appetizers/finger foods that you want to eat at your party, so we had:

- rotel

- turkey "pin wheels" (?)

- pigs in a blanket

- roast beef sandwiches

and of course, CAKE! 

Enjoy these next few photos. . . 

Thank you, Megan & Hollie, for making yesterday so, so special for me. For 20 years, we have made it through thick and thin with each other, but we've always made it out alright, and I couldn't be happier to have you both by my side. We share our craziest secrets, and we laugh about nonsense things,

and that is so perfect to me. 

I love you all.

& to all of you who thought enough of me to wish me a "Happy Birthday", thank YOU, too! 

I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to make mine even more special!