ready or not, here comes 30!

i'm turning 30 tomorrow. i'm not anxious about this change, but it does make me wonder where the heck time has gone? i feel as though the older i get, the faster life flies by. anyone else feel that way? ever since my dad got sick, i've tried to embrace birthdays as a good thing, because...they are! they mean you are healthy and getting to grow older. what more could you ask for? turning 30 also makes me think about my past, so i thought it would be fun to reflect on my life 10 and 20 years ago, compared to today. 

age 10 (1994)

sadly i don't have any pictures from this age to share. my mom has a ton, but that doesn't help me for this post. in july 1994 i was going into 5th grade. my best friends were kelli (who is still my best friend) and caylie (my old neighbor). life was about barbies & dolls (seriously, late bloomer!), sleepovers, running around the neighborhood, playing volleyball and softball for the park board, making friendship bracelets, french braiding friends' hair, spandex shorts, puffy paint shirts, stretchy headbands, not a care in the world. don't you wish you could have the same appreciation for being 10 as you would if you could go back? :) 

age 20 (2004)

at age 20, i had just finished my sophomore year of college. i was pursuing a marketing degree, but spent my summer working for southwest community ed. those were the best summers. i worked with my boyfriend of 2 years (thatcher), my best friend since babyhood (kelli), and lots of other friends. we would work together all day, teaching kid's summer camp classes and then would hang out in the evening too most nights. we didn't have a ton of responsibilities in life and it was great! 

we went to chicago for my 20th birthday and the 4th of july, our first trip with just the 2 of us.

age 30 (2014)

i would have to say 30 looks a million times different than 20, even. at 30 i have been with that boy for 12 years and married to him for 7. we have 2 beautiful kids (which blows my mind) and we own a house. we work hard to provide for our kids both financially and emotionally. we worry about their well-being, paying our bills, what to cook for dinner, our parents' health, and we dream about the future! it's a good life and i feel so lucky that it's mine. 

crazy to think what life will be like at 40 with a 13 year old a 10 year old!