25 Years of Wisdom, or How We Spent our Birthdays

I think I was 10 years old when I started thinking about my birthdays in longer intervals than 'next year I'll be 11'. I remember laying on my bed and figuring it out:

"In the year 2000, I'll be 15 years old
In 2005, I'll be 20.
And in 2010, I'll be 25!

Dang. 25 is really old."

And that's where it would end. I never kept going past 25.

So it's kind of an uncanny experience to reach the end of my childhood birthday calculations. Next year I'll be...26? That wasn't on my list!

It's not that I think 26 (or 25, for that matter) is old. Not at all. It's just that somehow it's become the boundary when a person goes from 'growing up' to 'grown up.' I'm not sure why this is a little scary for me. For Pete's sake: I'm already married with a kid and a house! How much more grown up can I get? I guess it's just the ending of an era, which is sad and exciting all at once.

Or maybe it's just that my Beehives laughed at me when I didn't know who Ne-Yo or Justin Biber were (or how to pronounce their names). Twenty-five and I'm already out of touch!

We were pretty mellow as far as birthdays go this year. Dinner at P.F. Chang's (tradition) followed by some homemade (by me) cheesecake at Debbie's (she and Nikki were babysitting Seth while we went to dinner). Jon's birthday was when the real fun started: Scott, Mary & Rebekah came to visit for the weekend!

The adorable Miss Rebekah

Not long after they got here, Scott confessed: "We didn't come just to see you guys. We really came so Rebekah could play with Seth."

Still figuring each other out--this was right after they got here

Rebekah observing Seth's tutorial on How to Throw Wood Chips

This girl loves balls. And getting both of them to look at the camera is a joke.

I was a little worried how the Seth-Rebekah dynamic would go, since Seth was rotten the first night (he was tired and Rebekah was in his chair at dinner. Bad combination). But the next day they were playing like best friends. Rebekah loved following Seth around, and Seth loved having someone to squeal with (and someone who didn't steal his toys or try to mother him like his other girlfriends). They really did play amazingly well together.

A cousin duet

It was a nice weekend--just hanging out and relaxing. Of course, we did rope them into coming to our ward Memorial Day Breakfast (I had to be there to help out with the games). But they survived. It was sad to see them go. Seth woke up from his nap and wandered around the house looking for 'Bekah.' Wish you guys lived closer!

How they spent Sunday afternoon--jumping on the bed and squealing like banshees
(which, coincidentally, is Mary's newest vocabulary word, thanks to our game of Cranium)

Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes and gifts! We were really spoiled this year. Jon got me (for my birthday/Mother's Day) a bike trailer so I can take Seth on rides. Woo hoo!! I got Jon a bunch of shirts. That's what he wanted: nice shirts and to not have to go with me to shop for them.

My bike trailer (which also doubles as a stroller). I love it!

And our BIG not-actually-birthday-but-happened-to-be-around-the-same-time gift? A king-sized bed! We are SO spoiled! The good news is that if you come visit us now, you can sleep in a queen sized bed on a frame instead of a full-sized mattress (no box spring) on the floor. We're moving up in the world! (Pictures to come once Lenae helps me finish picking out curtains that match the new bedspread).

Finally, thank you to everyone who offered advice on Seth's eating and leaf-phobia. We'll let you know how it works out!

And, for the grandparents (I don't expect anyone who isn't family to sit through this one): Seth and Rebekah having a blast together.