Celebrating Abigail's 20th birthday was the perfect excuse for a family road trip, and we weren't going to let a little thing like college get in the way of embarrassing her properly. We kicked off the day with a mission to decorate her dorm door—because what's a birthday without a little public humiliation, right? I'm pretty sure we succeeded, judging by the number of students passing by hollering, "Happy Birthday!" at the top of their lungs. Mission accomplished!
The hugs were extra long today. It's only been two weeks, but that's the longest the siblings have ever been apart. Her siblings needed to see where she lived to make this move real. They also needed to see for themselves that where she was going to college was as good as she said it was. ACU is now sibling-approved. They've allowed her to stay...for a few more weeks at least.
After embarrassing our birthday girl thoroughly, we whisked her away for a lovely brunch. Then, the whole family checked out Zeke's new apartment. We loved it! It's the perfect space for him, and he's buzzing with excitement about his work opportunities up there. Watching his excitement was a highlight of the day. I'm sure he'll have the place looking just like home in no time—complete with whatever creative touches he comes up with. He gets the keys to move in in just two short weeks.
With our bellies full and Zeke's apartment tour complete, we decided it was time for some good old-fashioned family fun at the movies. All ten of us piled into a theater—it felt like old times. It's been ages since we were all together in one place, and it was the perfect way to celebrate Abigail's big day. The kids laughed, teased each other like old times, and made quite a stir before the show started. It was chaotic, a little loud, and absolutely perfect - just like it used to be.
I tried taking a panoramic of the whole family taking up an entire row, but the lighting wouldn't allow me too. So, I got the four biggest troublemakers of the afternoon.
And a photo of Bill and his Mini-Me.
Dinner at her favorite burger joint was the grand finale, complete with exchanged gifts and lots of laughter. We all did our best to drag out the meal, knowing what was coming next—the inevitable goodbye.
It's never easy, and the littles had the most challenging time. It took everything to convince them it wasn't really goodbye; it was "see you later." Hosanna held the longest hug. I didn't have my camera out then, but Abby could tell she couldn't be the first to let go. I think our little unicorn was crying at having to say goodbye to a beloved sister she looks up to and adores.
Driving away was tough, but as we looked back at the day, it was clear that Abigail's birthday was everything we wanted it to be—a day full of love, laughter, and a little bit of good-natured embarrassment. And hey, if we managed to mortify her just a tad, we did our job as parents. Until next time, Abigail—we'll be back with more decorations!
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