26 and counting…

[7 min read]

For some reason, life has gotten extremely hectic all of a Sunday, and I realize that I’ve not shown my face on the blog in quite awhile, so here’s a post for you! [For those looking simply for my wedding and portrait work, oh get ready- the blog will be EXPLODING over the next month or so ;)]

So this past weekend I hit another milestone: 26 years of life. Can you believe it?! I guess most people can, because I generally get assumptions that I’m at least 2-3 years older than that. Not sure why it is…I’ve convinced myself it’s my maturity and wisdom, and not my receding hairline. :) And even though it’s not a “big” number in any sense of it, it was a great birthday nonetheless. I feel like over the past year my life has taken quite a bit of twists of turns of which I’m so thankful for, which makes me even more excited to start this new year off. Obviously, the biggest change was that I got married last August (goodness…it’s almost been 1 year!), and my wonderful wife decided to gift me a great birthday weekend!

It started on Friday, July 16th, the day before my actual birthday. I woke up with a note on my phone (the first thing I grab when I wake up) wishing me a Happy Birthday. And that morning my wife revealed my first gift:
chicago wedding photographer. chicago cubs, ps3, dave and busters

Now, I LOVE video games. And I’ve been talking about getting a PS3 since before we got married, but kept putting it off because I could not justify the purchase (to her or myself). She took all the hints though, and got it for me! This is really a big deal for me, because…well…I went from this:
chicago wedding photographer. chicago cubs, ps3, dave and busters

To this:
chicago wedding photographer. chicago cubs, ps3, dave and busters

To all of you who are freaking out right now…don’t worry. I’m keeping the original NES. It’s sitting nicely right next to my PS3. :)

That night my wife and I helped babysit my nieces, as my sister and brother-in-law took a trip to celebrate their anniversary. And generally, babysitting a 5-year-old and a 2-year-old can be quite a handful. But this time, it was a breeze! Mainly because everything surrounded my birthday so I didn’t have to do anything. They spent the night making me birthday cards, meaning I could not be in the room with them as it was a surprise. Then in the morning, they were ‘surprising’ me with breakfast, so I had to avoid the kitchen at all costs. Much love to my wonderful wife for truly watching the two little ones the whole time :)

We then hit a bit of a snag on birthday weekend- we went to a dealership to possibly purchase a new car. The bad news: within the week, they had sold the car we looking at! Can’t fault them, but it put a little bit of a downer on the day, now that we’re back on the search.

In the evening on Saturday came the 2nd celebration, where a few of my close friends got together at Dave & Buster’s for some good food, fun games, and good times.
chicago wedding photographer. chicago cubs, ps3, dave and busters
chicago wedding photographer. chicago cubs, ps3, dave and busters\

They had a rather big birthday ice-cream-cookie thing…I barely made a dent in it.
chicago wedding photographer. chicago cubs, ps3, dave and busters

We started out with some bball…
chicago wedding photographer. chicago cubs, ps3, dave and busters
chicago wedding photographer. chicago cubs, ps3, dave and busters

then did some racing…
chicago wedding photographer. chicago cubs, ps3, dave and busters
chicago wedding photographer. chicago cubs, ps3, dave and busters

…and a little bit of shooting…
chicago wedding photographer. chicago cubs, ps3, dave and busters
chicago wedding photographer. chicago cubs, ps3, dave and busters

At the end of the night, we used our winnings to get some candy for everyone, and I came away with a few prizes of my own:
chicago wedding photographer. chicago cubs, ps3, dave and busters

I think the green care-bear will be my new mascot- you think I can pull it off?

Then came Sunday- CUBS GAME! For 3 of the past 4 years, my wife and I have gone to the Cubs game for my birthday, and this was the best one yet. We had great seats and it was my first night game. Truly beautiful!
chicago wedding photographer. chicago cubs, ps3, dave and busters
chicago wedding photographer. chicago cubs, ps3, dave and busters
chicago wedding photographer. chicago cubs, ps3, dave and busters

We started out with some poor looking swings…
chicago wedding photographer. chicago cubs, ps3, dave and busters
chicago wedding photographer. chicago cubs, ps3, dave and busters
chicago wedding photographer. chicago cubs, ps3, dave and busters

I told the wife that I wanted to try to capture a HR swing (preferably by Lee, but I would take anyone at that moment). And then Soriano came up and this happened…
chicago wedding photographer. chicago cubs, ps3, dave and busters
chicago wedding photographer. chicago cubs, ps3, dave and busters
chicago wedding photographer. chicago cubs, ps3, dave and busters
chicago wedding photographer. chicago cubs, ps3, dave and busters
chicago wedding photographer. chicago cubs, ps3, dave and busters
chicago wedding photographer. chicago cubs, ps3, dave and busters
chicago wedding photographer. chicago cubs, ps3, dave and busters

It was a great night- a bonus because we broke our curse of going to games and having the Cubs lose :)
chicago wedding photographer. chicago cubs, ps3, dave and busters
chicago wedding photographer. chicago cubs, ps3, dave and busters

All in all, I had a great birthday weekend. I’m officially 26 years old and counting…counting my blessings for all the goodness, grace and mercy that God has shown me. He’s been faithful when I chose not to be, and has continued to be an anchor in the every changing storm of life. And because of that, I’m so excited for what’s to come. Because it’s truly not about anything I’m going to do, but what He’s going to do with me and through me- and what’s more exciting than that?!