It’s Emily’s 17th birthday!!! My baby girl is now 17!!! I will never get use to my girls getting older. Time is flying by and I just need it to slow down a little so I can enjoy every second of it.

We were so excited to be celebrating birthdays in Texas again. It was one of the biggest things the girls missed while we were in Alabama. We are big on birthdays! However, we didn’t expect COVID-19 to still have things shut down in May. But it didn’t stop us, we were still able to go to the mall (they had limited hours) so Em could shop. There was no trying on clothes and it’s almost impossible to shop for her without trying them on. She found a few things like her bell bottom jeans. Surprisingly they are back in style.

We ate at the Cheesecake Factory, and of course had to get the cheesecake. She wanted a chocolate cake with strawberries for later and we went big with the candles. I always love hearing their choices for the cake design even though mine are always a Pinterest fail, somehow the girls never seem disappointed. Since having her own room again, we included decorating her door which was fun and surprising.

Emily wanted a skate board since living in a perfect neighborhood for one with sidewalks and big parking lots, so we went on the hunt for one. We finally found a cute beach themed looking one she loved. Of course my California loving girl wanted palm trees on it. The image is on the bottom which made no sense to me. I guess it’s to show off the beauty of it when carrying it instead of riding it. Which might be good for her. I think she quickly realized it’s not as easy as some make it look. She was very determined to learn though. Stephen tried giving her some tips from his younger days. We might not see her doing fancy tricks for a while, just saying.

It was a great birthday filled with lots of fun and memories. I hope these memories never fade. Happy 17th birthday Emily.

I love you so much, you are my sunshine!

– Stephany