twenty-eight.

Yesterday was my 28th birthday. To be honest, it kind of snuck up one me this year! I loved being 27—27 was my "golden" birthday, and I had always said 27 was going to be my best year. And to date—it was! 27 held a lot of surprises. I joined the Air National Guard, I bought a house, I ran a full marathon, and I spent two months down in Texas for Basic Military Training. 27 just flew by and boy—it was jam-packed. When I realized that my birthday was this week, I was kind of blown away. Where did the last year go? Though it went quickly, it was awesome. I spent the last year becoming a better person and taking steps toward an awesome future. It truly was a great year.

As for 28? I'm ready for it. The number is just a number, but as for what I'm going to experience—that's what I'm excited for. I might not know what 28 has in store... but I'll embrace it as it comes. I made three wishes as I blew out my candle yesterday. One for the future, one that's kind of crazy, and one that's super random. But most of all, my goal is just to live every day. LIVE IT. Have fun, do it with a smile, and just be so grateful for each new day.

Oh—and as I do each year—I suppose I should share photos! This year's celebration was very low-key. Daniel and I threw a small joint birthday party for my mom's boyfriend and me the day before my birthday (which was his birthday). It was so nice! We just had a new patio poured at our home last week, so this was the first time we had people over to take advantage of the extra space. It was great! What a lovely time spent with our loved ones. We spent my actual birthday doing my favorite thing—date night! You just can't beat a chill, laid-back birthday.

The party crew.

Mister Gregory was so taken with Dobby. He couldn't believe she was real!

The best kind of mess!

A story about this book! It was my memory book from BMT that my mother-in-law made for me. She slaved all summer working on this, and it was the neatest and most precious gift!

While looking at this photo (of me running in the BMT 5K) Gregory proclaimed, "Whoa! You look like a man!" Yes, Gregory... yes, yes I did. You've gotta love the true honesty of a first grader.

28—let's see what you have in store. Anyone want to take a guess as to what this next year may hold for me? I'd love to look back and see who was right! Thanks so much for all the birthday love via Instagram & social media. You all are the best!

Past birthday posts: twenty-six │ twenty-seven