My 22nd Birthday

Today was my 22nd birthday. Taa-daa! I’m now officially old. ish. Oldish. I’ve decided that’s the technical term for that awkward age when you’re expected to be a responsible functioning adult but you still don’t really know anything.

Anyways, so, since I’m incredibly indecisive, as anyone who knows me can tell you, my mom decided to take the birthday decisions out of my hands and plan a surprise secret birthday field trip. As that may or may not imply, that means that I didn’t know anything that was going to happen on my birthday beforehand. Usually, I need to know everything, but it was fine. I really was pretty chill, for me.

The first stop on our voyage was the Overland Park Arboretum, to see the Monet gardens there. They were beautiful…but it was hot and humid! Which meant that the rest of the day was spent with that slightly uncomfortable feeling you get when you’ve been out in the sun in clothes that aren’t shorts and a t-shirt. Still, it was amazing how much the Monet gardens looked like his paintings, and I’m sure we’ll go back when the weather is a little more hospitable.

The next stop was at the Three Women and an Oven bakery, where we picked up my birthday cake! It was a gorgeous pink and sparkly pink champagne cake. We were very concerned with keeping it from melting, but luckily we had a cooler, so we carefully packaged it all up and headed off to the next destination.

Next, we headed over to Brookside to go to Reading Reptile. Reading Reptile is a children’s bookstore, full of decoration and atmosphere. We had fun looking at the books and remembering old favorites, and I got an adorable book there called Pigasso and Mootisse (obviously, going off of Picasso and Matisse). It’s really cute and clever.

After the bookstore, we went to the Plaza to have lunch at Jack Stack BBQ, only the best bbq restaurant ever! It was delicious, as always, and nice to be in the good a/c for a while.

The Plaza is right next to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, and though the museum itself was closed, we went and walked around the sculpture garden and the grounds so that I could turn 22 at a museum like I did last year, at the Kimbell. Basically, that means being there at 3:07, thankfully an easy time, unlike my sister’s one-something in the morning.

After the Nelson, we went to some shops on the Plaza, and then we went to Baron BMW so that I could look at the Minis! I was just expecting to be able to sit in one, but I actually got to drive one! I love the inside, though the clutch was so finicky in the manual that I drove that I might just have to pay more for the automatic, because it was majorly stressing me out. Still, so much fun and a good educational experience.

That was the last stop on our voyage, so we headed home, relaxed for a bit, and then ate my delicious cake. It was a good birthday, and only could have been better if I had been able to see all of my friends in Texas. Still, I got to read their amazing and loving comments on my Facebook wall, and that will have to be good enough for now.