In light of my 30th birthday, I thought I would follow the common trend of doing 30 _____ (you fill in the blank) for my 30th birthday!  I have seen people fill in the blank with blessings, moments, wishes, etc.  I am choosing highlights because they can be moments in time, special people, blessings or anything that I think of really!  All of these things have helped to shape me into the person I am today…hopefully I don’t forget anything!  And if I do, it isn’t on purpose just means my memory isn’t what it used to be.  I am 30 after all!  So here we go in no particular order.

1. Birth of Mikayla – On April 28, 2009, our lives changed forever with the birth of our first daughter.  Words can not describe this highlight in my mind!
2. Pregnancy of Baby Kickert #2 – And once again our lives would change when we found out we were pregnant with Baby #2.  A baby boy is sure to be a highlight of my next 30 years!
3. Marriage to my high school sweetheart – On October 2, 2004 I married the man of my dreams, my high school sweetheart. The wedding itself was wonderful, but the highlight comes in growing together and becoming a family over the last 8.5 years! 
4. Moving into my first apartment – The summer before I got married I moved into Royal Arms Apartments, and lived on my very own for the first time in my life!  It was a learning experience and took some adjusting, but I made it through!
5. Moving into my first house – In August of 2005, Ben and I bought our first house.  It was the home we welcomed Mikayla into, the home we got our first dog and rabbit, and the home that holds so many "first" memories in.
6. Moving to Swaziland – This was a big step for us as a family, but one that I do not regret or would not change.  We have loved our lives in Swaziland for the last 1.5 years and look forward to what the future holds for us here.
7. Birth of my nieces and nephews – I remember anxiously awaiting the call from my sister telling me she was in labor for the birth of my two nephews and nieces.  I treasure all the "highlights" we have had in their short years of life.
8. Birth of my goddaughter, Molly – We were honored when our good friends asked us to be the godparents of their first born and have enjoyed watching Molly grow up in the last three years!  I am pretty sure I cried when I got the message from Dave saying she was born on Christmas Eve!
9. Wonderful friends in our community in BG – We lived in BG for many years and over that time period developed many different friendships.  Some friends we still remain in contact with and some we have lost touch with over the years, but regardless of our friend status today they all fall into my highlights for the last 30 years.
10. Teaching kindergarten and developing a friendship with Lara – The years I spent teaching with Lara were some of my favorite highlights.  We did so many fun things (both in and out of school) that it is too hard to highlight them all.  But some of my favorites are planning graduation ceremonies and coming up with unique things for our kids to do, the year of the rainy field trips (seriously we could not catch a break), dancing and making a fool of ourselves during indoor recesses, Dr. Seuss fun, all the random parties we through to celebrate our kids achievements, and so many more!  Miss those days!
11. Eating ice cream from the gallon (on multiple occasions) with some high quality girls in college (and even once afterwards) – Oh and watching my friends make fools of themselves by running up and down the hallway with icing on their faces just to make us all smile, or The Crocodile Hunter who was a permanent fixture in our dorm room! I could almost expand this highlight to living in the dorms for three years, so many great moments during that time!
12. Camping trips with friends  – We did not do this nearly enough when we lived in the states, but those few trips we did take our some of my favorites!
13. Family time – Both immediate and extended…fishing trips at the farms, making yellow cake with chocolate icing with my Granny Carew, summer trips to NC to visit my grandparents, family vacations to Gatlinburg, and so much more.  Each of my family members are special to me.
14. Tree pictures – This is an Adkins family tradition that I have continued on with my family.  Just ask Ben, every time we o someplace new I am scouting out trees to take the perfect picture in!  I still remember climbing up in the trees in my grandparents yard as a kid to snap a picture.
15. Homeschooling Mikayla – Since I am not currently teaching I have been able to get my teaching fix from homeschooling Mikayla.  Although she is only three, I have enjoyed creating activities that will cater to her developmental level.
16. Family Vacation to Colorado – The fall before we moved to Swaziland, we took a family trip to Colorado.  It is one of my favorite family memories to date! 
17. Grandparents and Great Grandparents – I not only have the privilege of meeting all my grandparents and great grandparents, but also got to spend quality time with them.  That is a highlight that not many people can say they have. 
18. Reading – My first memories of reading come from my first grade reading groups!  I have gone through spurts in the last 30 years when I would and wouldn’t read, but some of my highlights come from reading.  I can still recall climbing up in the front tree of my childhood home to read a good book!
19. Road trip to Maine in College – I have always wanted to vacation to Maine, so my freshman year four of us decided to take a long weekend and do just that.  We pretty much spent the whole time driving, but were able to see a few sights and of course eat some yummy lobster too!  It was a classic college trip!
20. Summer abroad with Amy in Guatemala – We learned so much about each other and life all in six weeks while living and working abroad in Guatemala.  The relationships we made that summer have impacted many lives over the years!  So thankful for that wonderful trip.
21. Basketball – Whether it be watching or playing, I love the sport!  I played from the time I was little bitty all through college (if you can count intramural ball as playing still).  So many great highlights from those times.
22. Kaleidoscope – Many fun and enlightening projects took place with these kids.  I learned so much from them and with them!  Two highlights from this program would have to be the preparation for the MLK marches and Stop the Traffic event.
23. Making hair clips – This obsessions started after Mikayla was born, but has been a lot of fun!
24. Playing Disc Golf – Need I say more?  This sport is wonderful and relaxing and can be played anywhere, even in the bush of Africa!  This has been a fun hobby for us to participate in as a family.
25. Cooking –  I think I have always loved to cook, but mostly I love to bake!  Honing my skills over the years has been wonderful, fun and challenging all at the same time.  I even took a cake decorating class one year and a semester of a cooking class in college.
26. Education – I started my education in preschool and continued it on, formally, through my second masters.  I wouldn’t trade my educational experiences for anything!
27. Internet – Let’s be honest, this has changed all of our lives!  I still remember setting up my first email account.
28. Church youth group – These were some of the most formidable years of my life and I am still close friends with many of the folks I met.  Good times, great memories.
29. Traveling – I have mentioned several specific trips in my highlights, but in general being able to travel to various places both within the US and abroad have been great moments of my 30 years!
30. My first class – I have loved all my classes, but my first class holds a special place in my heart.  I became a real teacher that year and the challenging kids in that class helped to shape me as an educator.  I have loved watching them grow and change over the years!

Well that is that, 30 highlights from the last 30 years!  Hope the next thirty are just as fun!

Disclaimer – I realize that most of these highlights took place in college and beyond, but that is where the best of my memory lies!