Forty!

On Saturday, 22 of my favorite people made the trip from Tulsa to OKC to celebrate my 40th birthday with me and the fam!!  This photo makes me really happy for a myriad of reasons! 💗

The Party Planning Committee. =)  The Wilsons came to Mom and Dad's house early that morning to decorate... Chet & Karli worked behind the scenes for several weeks, coordinating with Mom (via coded phone calls instead of texts - lol) to plan all this, ordering and shipping tons of fun decor from Amazon (including a pink tinsel backdrop, iridescent heart streamers, pink plates and napkins, colorful heart glasses, gold candles and heart hands, #Swiftie friendship bracelets, etc.)... Karli also made the "Birth-tay" banner and an "In my Birthday Era" long-sleeved t-shirt for me using her Cricut, which can do so many cool things... AND they made this amazing balloon garland that made the road trip with them from Tulsa... it matches the Merritt's cake and fun confetti toppers they ordered (I so love all of these colors and that there are different size balloons and some with fun glitter confetti)!  And I really can't say enough how sincerely grateful I am for their friendship and for the time, effort, energy, love, creativity, money, and thoughtfulness that went into this surprise party!!!

The above-mentioned heart streamers and t-shirt... SO FUN!!

A random pic that made me laugh out loud when I saw Chet’s meme-worthy expression in the background.  Jon said, "Hey Lindsey, we are 4 you!" knowing I would hop up and take this photo, which also makes me laugh!

Aunt Lindsey Claire and Katherine Claire... she was taking a photo of our selfie. =)

Presh Parker Elizabeth ready for a nap and very willing to be held. ❤

A classic Mocky and the boys pic before Jeffrey had to leave!  (And Jonathan Matthew photobombing us).

Group pic!  I'm slightly sad that the granite cuts off the numbers, but still a fun pic by the balloon garland and in front of the stain-glass M (which once graced the entryway at 9121).  Side note: I have so many very tall friends, and I'm glad Kristin and Karli are near me to help even things out. lol

The Fulton Fam - Sarah Elizabeth, Katherine Claire, and Stephen Todd!! ❤

*They are in the midst of a very difficult, trauma-infused season as Sarah's youngest brother is recovering from a nearly-fatal Fentanyl overdose and they literally hosted a memorial gathering for Steve's dad the night before this party - I emphasized to Sarah not to feel any obligation to come to my party (when I thought it was in Tulsa), but she told me I'm family to them and they wouldn't miss it, and she wrote me such a kind and heartfelt card - I deeply appreciate them making the 4-hour road trip with their 2-year-old daughter that day!

The Young Fam - Sarah Bradley, Lachlan Brandon, Kyle Brandon, and Zealand Bradley! ❤

This was my first time meeting baby Lachlan in person. =)  I feel badly that I didn't get to talk to them more that day, but I did wish Kyle and Sarah a "happy first-date anniversary" ...while our group was waiting in line for the Mercantile (the day the Wilsons announced Karli was pregnant with Tate), Kyle mentioned that he and Sarah had their first date on February 17th, so that's been an easy one for me to remember!  So thankful they were willing to make the trip with two little kids!

The Wilson Fam - Chet Lee, Parker Elizabeth, Karli Marie, and Tate Haywood!! ❤

I just love them all.  *When Chettles responded to my group text invite saying, "LINDSEY!  You can't plan your own birthday - I'll take over from here" I laughed about that and made a mental note to remind him to get a headcount and make the restaurant reservations, and I tried to keep it simple and choose a dessert option that wouldn't require anyone to spend money on a cake.  Needless to say, this went well above and beyond my original plan. lol  So THANKS to Chet and Karli for putting this event and this group together, and for all you did to make this day special and memorable!!

The Myers Fam - Sophia Elizabeth, Evan Tyler, and Jessica Renee! ❤

*(Kudos to Chet for knowing Evan and Jessica's middle names - I could only remember Sophia's.)  I sat by Jessica at lunch, and she enjoyed Jace's repeated visits to our table and his colorful commentary about his own bday party at "the break room" the night before! lol  T-man sat by Evan and Jeffrey, and I was happy to see that, as he'd been a fan of both of them at the 4th of July event last summer!  Very thankful the Myers fam made this trip - I really do understand that it's more complicated to travel with young kids, and it makes me extra grateful for each of these families showing up! =)

Parker Elizabeth ❤

She knew it was picture time and didn't wanna be left out, so she asked me to hold her and cheesed it up for a picture!  I was very much on board for that plan! =)

The Foster Fam - Jonathan Matthew and Kristin Renee! ❤

Jon said to please note that he was advertising for Dad's State Farm business with his water in this photo! lol  I got to see Miles and Hope today, but Kristin's parents watched them on Saturday.  The Fosters have had a long and difficult year, but Jon continues to improve.  I'm grateful for their friendship, for their very generous gift, and for getting to hang out with them twice over this long weekend! =)

The Moss Fam - Jeffrey Edward and Ellie Faye (& Kelly Marie and Henry Edward, who were home getting ready to celebrate Kelly's mom's bday, which is also on the 17th)! ❤

So thankful to see JEM and Ellie in OKC again, and for the spoon-rest gift that made me laugh and appreciate Kelly's thoughtfulness and good memory!  Jeff and I texted a bit about Los Cabos the night before - both he and Sarah Elizabeth really played that up and threw off any suspicion.  I appreciate that Jeff had told our waiter to bring him my check (pre-Dad's generosity).  I also love that when Jon jokingly said I was asking a lot when I suggested the heart-hands group pose, Jeff chimed in, "Well, it's her birthday!" and went for it! lol And I love that all my friends were willing to pose for these pics and humor me with the heart glasses! =)

The Shoemaker Fam - Mark Anthony, Harvey Lane, Heidi Claire, and Rachel Elizabeth! ❤

Another family I'm sad I didn't get to spend more time with that day - I love the Shoemakers - Mark and Rachel are both licensed counselors which gives us a lot of common ground (and makes them a good source of wisdom/encouragement), and Rachel and I share a love of T-Swift and documenting life with fun photos!  She's one of two people I know who actually attended the Eras tour concert!! =)

*To be fair, I think Chet is also in the Swiftie club now,

just not as intensely as me and Rachel. lol

And last but not least...

The Fam! - Mom (Mildred Maxine), Jace Michael, Rachael LaJo, Kyndal Faith, and Dad (Michael Willis)!!  ❤

This was the first photo we took (Kyndal had a basketball game to go to) so we hadn't established the heart-glasses-for-everyone idea yet.  Triston had to work at CFA after lunch, but I went by for a shake later that night! =)  I'm thankful the fam was there to celebrate with me... and thankful Mom and Dad agreed to host my friends, and that Dad kindly bought everyone's lunch! =)

Me and Triston at Charleston's (which happened before all of the above photos, but blogger got the order wrong yet again).

I love this chalkboard Rach made for me - a fun surprise gift that I didn't even realize was double-sided when I first came over to say thanks.  *Jaceman isn't actually sure what this hand sign means, but it's his favorite go-to pose lately.  I feel confident that in a few years, he won't love that he did this in every photo taken of him at age 12, but such is pre-teen life. You live, you learn. lol  He's a funny one!

A memorable card from the Mini Miss K! lol  ...I hope my laughter really "makes everyone happier," and I can attest that my life is "expecially" happier and would not be nearly as great if she wasn't around!! ;-)

We had three tables that filled the back room at Charleston's... the fam was at the smallest table, then there were two tables with my friends... this = the table behind my table (note Jace standing up talking to me and Jessica in the background).

My table - Mosses, Wilsons, Fosters, Myers, and me! =)

Despite the fact that I now own five Swiftie-themed shirts, I'm really not among her *craziest* fans.  Still, I can't deny that I'm a big fan of T-Swift's music... when I saw this meme, it made me laugh and think of my friendship bracelet pics and heart hands pose and how some people may find it all fun and endearing, and others may have done a hard eye-roll and gone straight for the block button.  Which made me laugh bc I'm learning to embrace that everyone doesn't have to like me. #polarizing :-)

This makes me happy... I wanted to recreate a 2020 photo, and it caused some confusion!

Chet says it's super obvious that half my cake is gone in this year's pic, but I'm just choosing to ignore that. =)  #nailedit lol 

Speaking of, how fantastic is this cake!?  So pretty, although it didn't quite live up to Chet's vision/expectation (not enough white).  The confetti toppers and Cricut 40 are great, as well... it's currently my profile pic, because why not!?

A Charlie's Angels trio pic where you can see the 4-0 balloons more clearly!  Still getting used to that number! lol

My friends (and sister and cousin) have the cutest kids!  I'm thrilled that I get to be Aunt Lindsey or honorary Aunt Winsee to so many of the kids I love!  ❤

Believe it or not, this post is the narrowed version of the bday pictures. lol

 After briefly wrestling with some existential dread about turning 40, God spoke to me the night before and gave me fresh peace and hope (see previous post), then this birthday was light and fun and relationally rich and colorful - so hooray for starting off my 40th year surrounded by the world's best group of friends and my wonderful family!!

❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤