Happy Birthday Aunt Kelly!

Today (yes, Friday the 13th!) is my sister's 25th birthday!  I can't be in Tallahassee to celebrate, so I decided that dedicating a blog post to her would be the next best thing.  I hope she agrees.  I also thought it would be fun to take a look back at her birthday from last year, since that was in my pre-blogging days and I've been wanting to document it to look back on in years to come.  It was memorable, to say the least!

Kyndall wasn't quite 4 months old at the time, and I hadn't yet braved the 6 hour drive to Tallahassee by myself, for fear that it would just be too hard to do alone.  My sister was going through a really tough time in her life and I wanted to surprise her by showing up for her birthday.  So, I started thinking and came up with a plan.  Kyndall and I would take the Amtrak from Charleston to Jacksonville, and then someone would pick us up there and drive us to Tallahassee.  It sounded like the perfect plan, and I was confident that I could do it alone.  Plus, it would only cost me around $45!  Not bad!  There was only one negative:  We had to board the train in downtown Charleston at 4:30 a.m.!  Yikes!!

We left the house at 3:30 a.m.



Waiting to board the train

Matthew helped me carry Kyndall and our bags as far as he was allowed, before saying goodbye to us

The trip wasn't bad at all!  It only took a little over 3 hours to get to Jacksonville, which is about the same amount of time it takes in a car.  It was very bumpy and the train rocked back and forth the entire time.  This helped to keep Kyndall asleep most of the trip, which was what I had hoped for.  It was dark outside, so I didn't have any pretty scenery to look at.  I tried sleeping, but that wasn't happening.  Once we got to Jacksonville, my Dad was waiting for us and helped me with our luggage.  Kyndall was such a trooper during the whole trip, but she was definitely glad to get to Tallahassee so she could get out of that baby carrier and stretch!



Kelly's birthday wasn't until the following day, so I had to "hide out" in Tallahassee and not let anyone know I was there, other than my parents.  I didn't want to risk spoiling the surprise, so I didn't tell anyone that I was in town.  The next day, while Kelly and my Mom were at lunch for her birthday, I walked up behind her in the restaurant with a bouquet of balloons and tapped her on the shoulder.  The look on her face was PRICELESS!  She immediately started crying, and between the tears she managed to mumble a few words like "what??....how??....when??...."  It was the best surprise EVER!  I was so proud of myself for actually pulling it off.



That night, we had a little party for her and invited a few close friends.  I forgot to mention that she was DEATHLY sick, and really wasn't up for much celebrating.  She'd been in and out of the ER all week, and was really not feeling good at all.  This was another reason I so badly wanted to surprise her.  She was having such a rough week! 





Kyndall wore her cupcake attire for the party =)  Look how little she was!

I wish I had another great birthday surprise up my sleeve for this year, but I don't.  So, I thought I'd share some embarrassing pictures with you instead.  You're welcome, Kelly!  =)  =)

Let's take a walk down memory lane.........

Ok, enough with the embarrassing pictures.....onto some of my more recent favorites.......

As you can see, we've shared a lot of great memories, and I look forward to many, many more!  Happy 25th birthday, Kelly-Bug!!!  I love you very much, and so does this little lady.......

It was FREEZING and windy, and I wasn't getting the pictures I had hoped for, so we moved our little par-tay INSIDE!

"Don't think I won't jump, Mommy!!"

So over it by this point......

Not exactly our best photo shoot to date, but you get the point.  (This was sooo much easier when she was a baby!)  Anyway, ALL that to say..........

"To the outside world we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other's hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys. We live outside the touch of time." - Clara Ortega