I am a firm believer in birthdays, and birthday celebrations. I think they are the consolation prize for getting older when you're past the age of being excited for another year. Luckily for me, I am still excited about going up in age, since I already feel older than I am. And each year, I get super excited about my birthday. This one was no exception :)
Forgive me if you heard this story already, but Saturday's celebration wouldn't have happened if not for my car dying a few years ago. At the time I had a nice little 4 door, and the transmission was about go go. I begged Nathan to get me a truck as a replacement, and he pretty quickly agreed to it. I'd wanted a truck forever and I couldn't believe he was finally letting me get one! And then, after a lot of research, I realized he was looking at a Ford Ranger. No offense to anyone out there but good grief, if I'm going to get a truck, it's going to be a TRUCK.
So...we have a Honda Accord. And it's a great car, that I really do love. But every time a big truck drives past me on the road, I get a little sad that I don't have one. When my birthday rolled around, Nathan surprised me by calling a local rental company and asking for the biggest truck they had - a Dodge Ram 1500. It blew me away! I know people OWN that kind of a car, but it was amazing to even be able to drive one. So we picked it up Saturday morning and drove down to Virginia Beach.
Most of the day we spent driving, since it was my ONE. CHANCE. to drive such a big truck. There's something about being one of the tallest vehicles on the road that just makes me happy. I made full use of the V8 engine without getting too crazy, and I may have gotten 'lost' on purpose a few times just for another excuse to drive a little more. There's also a small chance I made Nathan listen to country music the whole time ;) Our first stop was at Mt. Trashmore, a hill made from what it sounds like - trash - that's been repurposed into a neat little park that I've always wanted to visit.
After a quick errand I had to run for my business, we headed over to Peter Chang's restaurant (nope, not PF Chang's) and ate the most authentic Chinese food I'd had in 10 years, since I lived overseas. It was incredible, and reminded me of home. I'm so excited to visit there again and bring my family back.
I haven't eaten this dish since I was 13 years old! Oh, the memories :)
So, between pumpkin pie (my yearly birthday 'cake'), a family visit the night before, and a day spent with the biggest truck I could have imagined, I had one amazing birthday. It's sad that I have to wait 363 days for the next one, but when I think back on all that happened in the last year, I'm even more excited for what's to come! I launched my business LESS THAN A YEAR ago and here I am with a full wedding season, portraits, and lot of growth coming my way.
I'm so blessed to celebrate another year, and to celebrate it in one of the best ways I can imagine. And a million thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday on Facebook, in person, through the phone, or with a card. My heart is full!
Happy Sunday everyone, enjoy some iPhone pictures from yesterday!
Another view of Mount Trashmore!
Who needs birthday cake when you have pumpkin pie instead?
Yeah...I think it was big enough!
He did good this year...love him!
