A New Year

Well, my birthday has come and gone and a new year is now before me. It is so weird to think about all that has happened in my life in the last ten years, and all that will happen in the next ten. If I think too long about the fact that I am no longer a teenager, I start to feel a weird mixture of excitement and sadness. But overall I'm mostly excited about this new decade of life!!

My birthday celebrations this year were some of the best yet. Going home to Boston with Megan and Tiffany was a dream come true. It was my first time going home for just a weekend before. While the weekend flew by, we fit so much in and shared so many laughs! I feel like I bonded on so many levels with them. Here are some highlights from the trip:
Friday~
1) Planning to leave at 5:30AM and getting a call early from Tiffany AT 5:30 asking us where we were. Somehow Megan and I slept through her alarm. Megan hadn't even packed yet!! So, it was a stressful start to a morning! Megan ended up packing a suitcase full of wet clothes and we ran out the door. Luckily though we somehow made it still with plenty of time to spare to my Aunt's house before she drove us to the airport.
2) Once we landed in Boston, my mom took us out to lunch to one of our favorite restaurants, Bertucci's. It was delicious and Megan and Tiffany loved it too!
3) We were soo warn out but I kept telling them that if they were up for it, they wouldn't be disappointed if we went to Maine. We decided to go for it and like I thought, they were amazed. The Nubble Lighthouse area in York, Maine is just utterly breathtaking. The beauty of God's creation just overwhelms me there and there is nothing like it. I am so glad that I got to share that with Megan and TIffany.
4) My mom then cooked us my favorite meal, homemade stuffed shells. They were exquisite and Megan and Tiff loved them too. We then got to spend some good 'ol time bonding with my family. It was so fun and it was so great to see how naturally Megan and Tiff fit right in with my family! And Joseph was a hoot!

Saturday~
1) We woke up early to me asking my mom if there was any cereal in the house and her responding, "no, i made smoothies!" it was such a simple, wonderful surprise and reminded me of the joys of living at home. It put our morning off to a great start!
2) We then went to watch the Andover Boy's volleyball first "Play Day". It's a little tournament type set-up and teams from around the league and state came to compete. It was good to see my Dad coaching again, and I couldn't believe Joseph's skill and how much he has improved! I felt bad about dragging my friends to watch this tournament, but they ended up really enjoying and had a great time too! It was also fun to see my best friend Cecily who came (we won't mention that she's been to more of my brother's games then mine ;)) and Coach Sullivan and Karla and Rob. And I also got to meet baby Robbie which was definitely a highlight and something that I have been anticipating for a while!!
3) We then rode into Boston and met up with my Uncle Robbie at his work @ MIT. He toured us around Cambridge and the MIT campus. We then took the 'T' to Harvard square and found a cute little Irish pub to eat at for lunch. We then adventured through the Harvard campus. I love having friends visit me because I have already done and seen all of the places that I take them too, but seeing the excitement on their faces and seeing them enjoy new sites really does bring me much joy and I feel like I'm seeing things for the first time all over again.
4) After an afternoon in Cambridge, we ventured across the river to Boston. Uncle Robbie drove us around some so that they could see more of the city and dropped us off in the North End--or Little Italy. It is one of my favorite parts of Boston! We waited in a line out the door at the famous Mike's Pastries and each got a canoli to indulge on. Megan doesn't even like canolis and she loved hers!! I also am a big fan of the marzipan, so I got some of that too! We walked around to Fannueil Hall and Quincy Market, and enjoyed seeing adorable seals at the Aquarium! When we were at Quincy Market we received free samples of Clam Chowdah so the girls got to enjoy some good 'ol Boston chowdah!!
5) After this exciting day, we met up with Cecily at another favorite restaurant, Not Your Average Joes where I received my complimentary birthday 16 oz. steak tips, mashed potatoes, and green beans with a Peanut Butter Thing for dessert!! That is seriously the best birthday deal in town!
6) We then just hung out at home with Cecily and Joseph and enjoyed many laughs and jokes.

Sunday~
1) We woke up to a pancake breakfast from my mom--undercooked just the way I like them!
2) It was fun to have the opportunity to take Megan and Tiffany to my church, and I just loved being back at FCC. I feel so blessed that my family found such a wonderful church family. Ironically enough, the sermon was also called "Healthy Singleness". I know the three of us took a lot a way from it and it led us into a good discussion afterwards.
3) After church we went back in to Boston to see some more things that we didn't have time for Saturday. We drove around some more and then got out to climb trees in the Boston Public Garden and to take a stroll up Newbury Street (the 5th Avenue of Boston). We found a cute little French coffee shop and also enjoyed some latte's and cappucino's while people watching on Newbury.
4) Then we drove to my birthday party. My last favorite restaurant, Flatbread Pizza, opened a new restaurant near Boston. It has a really cool old-school candlepin bowling lane in it too. So my parents, my brother, my uncle, Megan, Tiff, Cecily and I enjoyed a game of bowling and then the 8 of us devoured 6 large pizzas (yes, it's that good) and my favorite traditional birthday cake--a red velvet cake batter ice cream cake from Coldstone!!
5) Knowing we had to wake up at 4 the next morning, we went to bed "early" around 10...however, somehow we got into a hilarious conversation and didn't end up going to sleep until 1am!!!..oops!

Monday~
1) We were up and at 'em at 4:15 and out the door by 4:45 to catch our plane to head back to JMU!


So, all in all in was a weekend that couldn't have been better! While we saw a lot, there was still so much we didn't get the opportunity to see so both Megan and Tiff are making plans to come back sometime soon! It was so wonderful to get to celebrate my birthday with my parents and brother and uncle and friends!

On my actual birthday which was Wednesday, I was surprised by all of the texts and love that I received from friends and family!! That night The Supper Club hosted a fabulous birthday for me and graciously invited my suitemates as well. It was so fun to have Tiff, Shannon, and Brianna meeting them and getting to spend time with my family! And soon, I will be going out to celebrate with my grandparents too!

All in all, it was an epic birthday and one that will be hard to forget!! Pictures to come at some point! Thanks for hanging in there for this LONG post!!!