Seventeen.

Having my birthday the week before Spring Break can be a good and a bad thing. Good, because I have the joy of celebrating my birthday practically all week with the bonus of no school (YAY!). Bad, because sometimes, just sometimes, it happens to fall on the Sunday of the week entirely before Spring Break, which means that I have to do school the day after my birthday, wait an entire week, and then wait and celebrate my special day 7 long days later. It seems messed up if you ask me, but that's the circle of life. However, on this very special birthday of mine, things didn't seem to go quite as I had planned or imagined it would go. But with the help of some very good friends and family (YAY for awesome friends + family!!), I had one spectacular birthday celebration, with a few surprises along the way.

To start things off, I had come to realize a few months prior to my birthday, that my church was having a weekend youth retreat the same weekend as my birthday. All hope that I had of having a party or a celebration of any kind on my actual birthday had been completely shattered and thrown down the drain. My second thoughts were to just not have a birthday celebration at all. Just give me a platter of cookies on my special day and everyone wins. Fortunately for me, my family had other plans.

One day after dinner, my parents brought up the topic of my birthday. Knowing I wasn't really going to do something too special, I didn't seem so enthusiastic when they asked me what I wanted to do. Then, my dad brought up the brilliant idea of just waiting for Spring Break to celebrate my birthday, and we could go to San Antonio and spend the day there. (DADDY YOU ARE THE BEST.) My 17th birthday didn't sound so boring after all!

An entire week after my birthday, Spring Break finally rolled around + got to go to SAN STINKIN' ANTONIO. I was pretty excited to go, because I had never done something like this and I felt very grown up haha.

I had gotten my driver's permit a couple days after my birthday, so this trip was my first real time to go driving. Of course I didn't drive in San Antonio (that's not happening for another year, thank you very much), but I did drive on the highway on our way there. I drove a consistent speed of 65-70 mph for an hour! Yippee! It was very scary, but it was fun. :)

We spent that Friday + Saturday in San Antonio (the 20-21st), and it was very cool because we got a hotel (that never happens). I was living on luxury in a hotel with an indoor pool + fancy breakfast. That Friday evening, we went to the Riverwalk for dinner and I must say, it was amazing. We went to Tony Romas + I had ribs (YUM). In case you've never been to Tony Romas, it's practically the fanciest steakhouse ever. I don't know if I was happier with eating ribs, or using their restroom... I'm not gonna lie, those restrooms are so fancy! Their sinks have rocks and waterfalls, and they have complimentary hand cream.

In front of the Riverwalk!

After an enjoyable evening at the Riverwalk, my family headed home and got ready for our big day in the morning.

The next morning, we got up and got ready for the day and headed to breakfast. It was practically a made-to-order breakfast. They had toast + eggs + bacon + omelets + pretty much anything else you can think of. It was so delicious.

After breakfast, we headed out of our hotel and went to the San Antonio Zoo. I have a decent obsession with the zoo. Okay, I have a major obsession with the zoo. I'm not on having pets or having huge dogs all up in my personal space, but there's something about seeing tigers and monkeys that gives me a huge burst of excitement. (I may be 17, but I'm still a kid. Cut me some slack!)

It was extra fun because some of my cousins got to come in from Central Texas and spend the day with me too. Here's a couple pictures of our adventurous day.

The above picture... Please excuse my terrible face. But look! Elephants!!

You could feed these birdies nectar. They would open the canisters by themselves! So cute.

All us cousins + friends! :D

After the zoo we enjoyed dinner at Golden Coral. It was an enjoyable time and we ate a lot! But the fun wasn't over! After that, my family + I went to my aunt and uncle's house in San Antonio. My uncle was selling his car and offered it to members of my extended family. Nobody needed another vehicle, and since I was only a few months short of getting my license, my mother asked me if I was interested in buying the car. Of course I was extremely shocked and excited to know that I could get a CAR, I didn't quite know what to say. But knowing that I had the money and eventually the need for a car, I decided to buy it. So yes, I GOT A CAR. It's seriously one of the coolest birthday presents in the world. I had to buy it myself and it was a week late, but definitely worth it.

MY FIRST CAR. IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL

The car is roughly as old as I am. It's got a few quirks + gimmicks but it's MINE.

SO, in the end, it was a very very  productive and wonderful birthday. Just to think, that for my birthday next year, I'll have my driver's license and I'll be 2 months away from graduating high school. Woah. But that's for another year. I'm just here to enjoy seventeen. Seventeen is sure treating me well so far! But how much better is it going to get? Only time will tell.