Oh, how can it be that you are 19 today? Didn’t you just fly into the world yesterday, all four pounds nine ounces of spitfire? You, my baby girl who ate dirt at the park, played ball and rode her bike on the walls of Lucca in Italy? You hiked up mountains, cheered on your St. Louis Cardinals and argued for social justice every chance you got (and still do). You poured over travel books, dreaming of the day you could see the world on your own. Oh, Allie Rose, those were a fast and furious, and somewhat fantastic, 19 years. Happy Birthday!
You’ve had a big year…a new life at Oregon State, awesome new friends (and still some pretty fantastic old ones), ideas and plans for a new future, AND you’re holding an airplane ticket to Copenhagen for this summer.
Happy Birthday, I love you, I admire you, and you crack me up. Oh, and thanks for the CDs you made for Dad for Christmas (titled “I am going to change your life” and “You’re welcome”) because you did change my life, and thank you. Now go live your own wonderful adventure. I hear it’s waiting for you.
kim's tour of no regrets 
I love the picture of the 3 of you ladies on the beach.