Eighteen.

Yesterday was my 18th birthday, and I still can hardly believe it. I feel super old and grown up now - ha!

It was a pretty great birthday although filled with a lot of lasts. It was my last Friday of classes as a high school student and possibly the last birthday spent at school (SO weird!). The college I'm going to next year gets out at the end of April, so I may have a summer birthday now!

Honestly though? I kind of liked having to go to school on my birthday. It gave me a chance to see so many more friends and be able to celebrate with them throughout the school day.

My birthday kicked off with a few presents from my parents, including a super cute Eiffel Tower necklace.

I also came downstairs to a little surprise for breakfast. Yum!

I made a giant army of cupcakes this week (4 dozen to be exact!) to take into school yesterday.

I had saved these Paris cupcake toppers for months so I could use them on my birthday!

I honestly think bringing in the cupcakes and sharing them with my friends throughout the day was the highlight of my birthday. There is just something so sweet and rewarding about seeing people get excited about my cupcakes. I even heard one of the girls in my government class say it was one of the best cupcakes she's ever had. I don't think people realize how much I appreciate comments like that. Sharing treats with such appreciative and supportive friends and teachers is something I'll always remember about high school :)

When I got out to my car after school, I had another surprise waiting for me. I think what made this birthday extra special was all of the simple little surprises throughout the day! What could it be except for.....

......more cupcakes - ha! My parents were downtown yesterday afternoon and picked up a few cupcakes from Abby Girl Sweets, one of the cutest little bakeries in town. I have yet to eat them though because I was so high on sugar I just couldn't think about eating more cupcakes.

I was also blessed with perfect weather yesterday too. The sun was shining and it was warm - in the upper 70's!

Our art show at school was yesterday too. All of the seniors get their own wall space to hang up any artwork we've done over the last 4 years. It was SO fun because there are a ton of seniors who take art this year. We all brought a bunch of food, dressed up, and got to hang out a little bit at the show before our families showed up. I was also thankful that some of my extended family came as well to see my artwork. It was nice that it fell on my birthday because it gave me a good excuse to see my friends a little more as well as some of my family!

This is my wall of art. My Senior Series theme was Paris (duh!), so I have a bunch of Paris artworks on the right.

My friend Danielle and I in front of her wall!

My cousins Maddie and Sydney were able to come for a little bit too!

After that my parents and I headed out to dinner. I picked The Melting Pot this year, and I am so happy I did! I had never been before, but it was always a restaurant I wanted to try. If you're not familiar with it, The Melting Pot is a fondue restaurant where everything is prepared at your table.

We started off with cheese fondue. They brought out breads, vegetables, and even Granny Smith apples to dip in it.

I didn't realize that you cook your main course at the table too. We got chicken, steak, and shrimp to share, and it was all so good. I also loved the variety of dipping sauces they brought out too. I was able to try some things I wouldn't normally eat.

But then my favorite part (obviously) was the chocolate fondue. I didn't realize there were so many choices - this is the fondue menu. Crazy!

I ended up choosing the Cookies 'N Cream Marshmallow Dream with milk chocolate instead of dark. It was an excellent choice in my opinion. They also brought out my own little plate with a birthday candle in it! We had cheesecake, strawberries, bananas, Rick Krispie treats, pound cake, marshmallows, and brownies to dip in the chocolate. So, so good.

Overall, it was a pretty fantastic birthday. I enjoyed it so much, and I think I made a lot of good memories with my high school friends yesterday. Thank you so much to everyone that wished me a Happy Birthday, whether in person, on Twitter, or through Facebook. I appreciate it more than you know!