A Tribute to my Twenties

Well, Twenties, it was fun while it lasted. We definitely had some good times and some not-so-good, but I can honestly say that it was fun while it lasted and I'll miss you. I am looking forward to what my Thirties will bring, but don't worry, I'll never forget you and what we once had. I just think it's best if I don't dwell on our time together but instead move on, keeping our memories together dear to my heart. So in farewell, here are some of the good times we've had.

When we started up, I was finishing up at Dixie. I had a cool job that paid the bills, good friends, good roommates (mostly), and an outlet for my cheesy musical side: Inspiration, the Institute show choir. Life was great.
Then I felt the need to move away from that wonderful place and try something new. So I moved to Provo, where I got demoted, barely survived, had no car, and almost no friends. We shared our 21st birthday in Provo. (Aubrey, you really saved my life up there.) It all worked out, because while I was there, two awesome things happened. 1. I decided to go on a mission. 2. I met this guy:
Okay, that picture was taken much later, but let's keep going. So I moved home and basically had the most memorable and fun Thanksgiving/Christmas season ever. My cousin Karena was living with us, and even though I wasn't the most optimistic about the idea at first, as soon as I moved home, I realized how fun it was going to be. Lots of good times and geeky Christmas dancing.
Then I left for the mission. I learned as much Russian as possible in the MTC and realized it wasn't much when I actually got there. But it came in time. We celebrated our 22nd birthday in one of my favorite places, Tyumen. I also got to serve in Perm (also great, obviously) and that was it. Two awesome areas.While I was gone, the Packard network was working hard on Peter, unbeknownst to me. (Ha ha, I love that word- unbeknownst! Anyway...) So when I came down to Carlsbad right after I got home, I met this guy again:
We celebrated our 23rd birthday down there with him. It was a bit awkward, being our first week dating. But we got over it, because later that year we got married and moved to Walnut Creek, California. We met some awesome friends there and generally had a marvelous time in spite of the poorness. Oh, Twenties... these were some great times.

I can't really remember our 24th birthday, but it must have been fun. Halloween birthdays are always fun.
When we turned 25, I was big with child. I was running stairs, swinging on swings, and praying that the baby would come early or at least on time. But he came 5 days late, even though I was literally running stairs every night for a week before he came. At least I got a good workout!
Our next few years together are kind of a blur. We moved to Arizona. I know that I found out a few weeks before our 26th birthday that we'd be having another baby. Already?!?! Yep. So our 27th birthday was probably spent nursing, changing diapers, and cleaning up spit up. Little did I know that in December we would find out we were going to have another baby. Really?!?! (Insert loud scream here.)
And we did. A month before our 28th birthday. This time we really spent our birthday nursing, changing diapers, and cleaning up spit up. But we had moved to a new house and were making new friends, and it was a good time.
It was then that I think I started to realize that our time together was coming to an end. I started worrying about the degree I had never finished, and the fact that I hadn't been back to Russia yet, and that I still wasn't running a successful business out of my home. So I decided to control what I could, and I dyed my hair yellow. These were pretty low times. It was too drastic for me and my hair was ruined. But you know what? I got it out of my system, whatever it was about moving on to my Thirties. Still, I wish we hadn't wasted that year feeling insecure. At least we came out of it before our time together was up.

On our 29th birthday, we had some family pictures taken. My hair had to be cut short because it was basically fried. But it's okay, I know a great photographer who fixed the problem nicely:

*Dusting off hands* There we go!

So here we are, Twenties. Our last day together. We sure have shared a lot. I will miss you and your carefree ways. I used to think our time would never run out, but it has, and I have to say that I am looking forward to spending the next decade with my new friend, my Thirties. After all, if Fifty is the new Thirty, then Thirty must be a lot like you, Twenties.