Birthdays

Today is my best friend in the whole world's birthday! Nicole Curtis turns 20 today. How old! I was just reminiscing on the good ole days and had to share.


When I think about birthdays, well mostly when I think about Nicole's and my birthday, I am reminded of the days when we both lived in Colorado and did joint birthday parties. Those were so much fun! Nicole's mom always made the most amazing cakes that were perfectly decorated in the most creative ways. She made a smiley face cake one year that was so adorable! And then she made a monkey cake that was the cutest cake ever. Nicole and I had to have monkey parties! (We both still LOVE monkeys.) There were many more, but my memory is terrible. 


All of my memories are kind of linked through different things. When I think about birthdays, I think about Nicole's old house. Oh, how I miss it! I remember when we used to gather every pillow in the house and find the slipperiest sleeping bags and slide down the stairs over and over and over until Patty had to tell us to stop! So then we would take the sleeping bags down to her basement and lay them out and have wars on them. Once we got bored with that, we would blow up tiny plastic balloons with little straws. You know, the kind of balloons that come in really small tubes? Anyways, we would blow those up, and make balloon sculptures until I earned the nickname "Da Bubbly" because I loved those so much. After blowing up balloons, we could proceed to play Pacman on Nicole's computer. Nicole was such a pro!! I think that is how she earned the name "Da Button." So from then on, we were Da Bubbly and Da Button! How silly! I still love it :) 
It seemed we were inseparable. Then, the more than terrible day came that Nicole had to move to Washington. I still remember her coming to my house to say goodbye, then returning one more time after I was already asleep to say goodbye one last time. We were both a mess! And those were two girls who did not cry! We were tough, but somehow not tough enough. It seemed to me like the end of the world. Who was I supposed to hang out with every single weekend? Who was going to come over for Thanksgiving and Easter and cause a ruckus with me? Where would I go every Halloween for a haunted house? It seemed to be the worst thing that ever happened to me. 


But it was all okay! I took many trips to Seattle over the years to help me to get my "Nicole fix". We made it a point to do something crazy every time we saw each other, so maybe her move wasn't too bad after all. It really made me so much more thankful for our friendship and the amazing person she was to me. We went indoor skydiving (twice), para-sailing, went to drive-in movies until 2am, took tons and tons of pictures, and spilled our souls to each other! And we have yet to go skydiving, but it will happen! (There is a place out here we can go, Cole, so if you come out to visit ever, we WILL do it!!) Seattle became my new favorite place to travel.


Then college happened. And boy is it crazy! Now, we are thousands and thousands of miles away, but I feel closer to Nicole than ever before. We don't talk nearly as often as I'd like (we are both so busy and the time difference is such a little bugger!) but every time we talk I feel it has only been a few days. I love her with all my heart and I am so thankful for a friend like Nicole in my life. I hope everyone in this world has a "Nicole" in their life like I do! 


So on this wonderful November 19th, the happiest day of the year, I would like to wish Nicole Curtis all the happiness and joy the world has to offer. I can't wait until we meet again. Love ya, girl!!