Tinkerbell's Travels

January 2, 2025

On December 18, 2024, my odometer turned over mile number 60.

I am now “Sexty!” Sounds better than Sixty, don’t you think?

And to celebrate this momentous occasion, I invited my best forever friends (bffs) to join me in one helluva party!

My friends came from all over the country to hang out with Jay and me at our recently remodeled home (Atua) for a few days before the Big Day: a big shout out to my sister Ilene and her husband Dave (of the famous Jave dynamic duo who fixed Tink’s A/C), friends John & Kari, Linda (McB as we affectionately call her since having 2 Linda’s is just 2 confusing), Hannah, and cousin Jerilyn!

We started the celebration a day before the Big Day.

That afternoon, we jumped into Tinkerbell and drove to The Ritz-Carlton at Dove Mountain. There, we enjoyed watching the sunset and listening to a local Native American Flautist. As they played on the mountaintop, the notes floated down the mountain to an appreciative crowd (including us!) quietly sipping fireside cocktails.

Now might be a good time to share with you who these wonderful friends of mine are and how we came to be 🙂

John and Kari are from Mankato, MN.

Kari is Jay’s sister’s husband’s sister and Kari is married to John. It’s so much easier to just call them my bffs. How lucky we are that we’re able to call our “family” our “friends” first and foremost!

Kari and John have been a part of our travels all the way back to Coach Kyoshi (our first Country Coach). They were some of the first friends to meet puppy Austin when we adopted him in Waco, TX.

WordPress won’t let me type a heart emoji, butt if I could it would be right here.

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And now, let’s continue with our Birthday/Christmas Tinkerbell tour…

After cocktails at the Ritz, we boarded our magic carpet ride (Tinkerbell) and toured Christmas lights around Oro Valley.

My bff Linda McB has been in our lives for more than a decade. She was a client of ours when we had our business. She and I made one heck of a team – the goals we accomplished were truly amazing.

Butt what is really amazing is the fact that this goddess packed herself up and flew in alone (husband Joe couldn’t make it due to starting a new job) from Tennessee with her foot in a cast and her arm in a sling! She was hell bent on making it to my party and there was NOTHING that was going to stop her.

Girl, I love you! Here’s another heart.

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And now, let’s meet Hannah!

This was the biggest surprise for me – to have Hannah come to my party all the way from Virginia! We haven’t seen Hannah since we packed up and left DC in 2020.

Hannah was an intern in our company shortly before we sold it. She is now a senior leader in a multi-national firm headquartered outside of Washington DC. Butt, more importantly, she is one of the smartest, kindest, and most beautiful people in our lives. She’s an avid world traveler too! For her to take time out of her jam-packed life to celebrate my birthday with me over the course of several days, said more about her than anything I could possibly write.

Hannah’s a good friend. I’m so proud of all she’s accomplished and who she is.

And… Austin loves her as much as I do! When she walked through the door into our Tucson home, Austin erupted in joy! He was soooooo excited and soooooo happy! His tail couldn’t wag fast enough! If a dog could hug, Austin would have wrapped Hannah in a big ‘ole bear hug! It’s a warm and happy memory I’ll cherish forever. Hannah, you’re simply awesome. Here’s another heart.

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And now, let’s continue with our Birthday story…

After our Cocktails & Christmas Lights Tour, we found our way back home and snuggled into our warm and cozy beds (even if they were air mattresses). We needed our beauty sleep before the Big Day!

And then… it was… December 18! The Big Day!

Now would be a good time to introduce Cousin Jerilyn.

She’s Jay’s cousin, butt she’s my bff.

Jerilyn is Cousin Jennifer’s sister ;). We visited Cousin Jennifer at her house in Walnut Creek, CA, a couple of summers ago.

Jerilyn turned Sexty this past summer. Jay and I (and the boyz) drove Tinkerbell up to Jerilyn’s home in Illinois to celebrate with her. I didn’t post a blog about that trip because #1 it was last-minute and #2 as soon as we got home, we had to pack and move (yes, another house move).

While I didn’t get to post about the trip, here is a picture that I just love from our visit:

Jerilyn has been with us through many moves (both hers and ours!). We have so many fond memories, including doing puzzles in our pajamas over Christmas holidays at our home in Fredericksburg, Va. Here’s a big heart to you, Jer!

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And now, we’ll jump back into our regularly scheduled program… The Birthday!

December 18, 2024

What a day! Everyone came together to handle all the details of a big party: decorations, food, tables & chairs, lights, and even a dance floor!

We took a break to have a mini celebration with my favorite of favorites: Carvel ice cream cake! I mean, what’s better than ice cream AND cake?!

And last butt not least in the Cast of Characters… there’s my sister Ilene and her husband Dave. They came from Oregon to the celebration and their son Ian stayed in Tucson after finals to help out too!

Ilene is probably the person who knows me better than anyone (except maybe Jay!). She’s been with me – obviously – since she was born (she’s a few years younger than I am). We were thick as thieves growing up and remain that way today!

I honestly don’t think I would have had a birthday party without Ilene to be there celebrating with me! Thank you, Ilene (and Dave!), for helping plan the event, for coming out to Tucson right before Christmas, and most of all for being my bffs! You two don’t get a heart. You get a universe of hearts!

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And now, finally….

Take a breath.

And get ready to join me as my bffs worked together to pull off THE… BIGGEST… BEST… PARTY…OF…MY…LIFE!!!!