I don’t know how it happened – especially considering I just turned twenty nine last year – but somehow, someway, this year on May 1, I turn forty! FORTY. YEARS. OLD. Honestly, it’s really hard for me to wrap my mind around this, not like in a bad and sad way where I feel depressed, not like that at all, just how in the world am I already 40 years old!?! The average life expectancy is in the 70’s, so I’m assumingely already more than half way done! Insane.
Luckily, I’ve been living it up all this time! Now yes, I do recognize this, but after scouring through the last ten years of pictures for this blog post, I was served an incredible reminder of the life I live. Hashtag blessed. I decided for this post I would select forty photos from the past decade that symbolized some of my best moments. I originally narrowed down THOUSANDS – no literally, like thirty thousand photos – to eighty three. It was quite a feat omitting the other forty three, but I managed, and now here we are at the final forty.
It was an absolute thrill for me this past week looking at photo after photo and remembering so many of these wondrous moments. It was such a joy to see so many people’s faces time and time again and honestly, still a joy to see those faces that were only there for a chapter. This truly turned out to be a project of love and I’m beyond excited to share it all with you all…
Of course I had to start with this iconic shot. May 2016. Life hasn’t been the same since!
Aw, my California Babies. My life out there couldn’t be reflected upon without them being heavily featured in that reflection. Logan, Garrett, Colsen, and Gabby were the core four that I love with every beat of my heart. Gabby graduates with her Master’s this spring and Colsen is living his best boating life and I couldn’t be happier for and more proud of the two of them.
This picture just killed me. We had THE BEST time that March of 2017 going to Circus Circus or some such place in Las Vegas to have this taken. I LOVE a good old timey photo and this one is top notch for me. This whole shoot was a blast! Kamber, her daughter Charlie, Nancy, Melissa, and I really look like we hale from that prohibition era, an era I clearly have a lot of fanfare for…
OOF! This is from my last night as a Californian. Melissa and I sang karaoke with the core four (shown two photos ago) over at Colsen’s house where his incredibly mom, Karen, gave me and Melissa this beautiful goodbye/wedding gift. It hangs proudly in our Pocahontas themed kitchen. That night was FULL of emotions and my goodness were lots of tears shed! I remember the next day when we finally left I cried all the way from Temecula, California to Gallop, New Mexico. I think it was like eight or nine hours. I mean I literally cried the entire time! I remember sobbing at the gas station in Arizona and people visibly looking at me crying, but I couldn’t help myself. I was leaving the friends and family I’d been with for the past three plus years and it hurt. I obviously wanted to make the move and am most definitely glad I did, but still, emotions were high on this June 2017 day.
July 29, 2017. Melissa and I were so blessed to be surrounded by so many loved ones. Our wedding party looked phenomenal and we had nearly three hundred people attend our wedding. It really was one of THE BEST experiences I’ve ever been apart of.
Melissa and I used to host these wonderful Halloween parties and this October 2017 one was the first of them. It was a 1989 themed one and I of course had to go as The Shredder from my beloved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and this is my lifelong friend, Lindsey, who went as David Bowie’s character in Labyrinth. We really got to get back to having these.
Melissa and I took Logan and Garrett to Los Angeles on this April 2018 day where we visited the Griffith Observatory and the Hollywood Walk of Fame where Logan caught me and Melissa saying a prayer over Britney’s star. God Bless Britney Spears and may she get to be as happy as she has made so many of us throughout this world. It should be noted that I HATE that they allow these food vendors to set up along this street! Get this shit out of here! How can people take pictures and pray with the stars if someone’s janky food cart is hovering right over it!?! Feels VERY disrespectful.
October 2019, the last time we got to see Céline Dion live. Believe it or not, she graced St. Louis with her presence as part of her Courage World Tour. We were so honored and humbled to be there with her singing, laughing, and crying (a lot) to her spiritual show. We didn’t know if she’d ever perform again once the world learned she had Stiff Person Syndrome, but she’s proving to us all that she truly is simply THE BEST with her triumphant return to Paris this fall.
Amanda and I visited the short-lived Britney Spears Selfie Museum, The Zone, right before the world shut down in March 2020 from the global pandemic. This was one of THE BEST experiences I’ve ever had. Getting to walk through recreated scenes of some of Britney’s most iconic music videos was a real dream come true honestly. Thankfully, it wasn’t too crowded and we got our own tour guide who was able to take hundreds and hundreds of photos of us.
In the August of 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, my good friend California Nancy, who I worked with at Enterprise, moved from California to Florida, thereby becoming Florida Nancy. We already have Nancy, Nancy, so this is the best way to differentiate between them. This is Florida Nancy and I in St. Augustine, Florida, one of THE BEST and most enchanting places I’ve ever been. I just love it and love and cherish all the moments Florida Nancy and I have together. Countless laughs are always had and memories always made.
Lydia, Dylan, and I at The Men’s Wearhouse in November of 2020, which let me be honest, is the last truly enjoyable job I’ve had. Working alongside these two was a treasure and provided me with some of THE BEST moments of my professional life. Lydia was a top notch leader who remains one of my top two favorite bosses ever. She is so full of life and wisdom and just made everything go so smoothly. Dylan is one of the funniest people I’ve ever known and is so without trying. His quick wit and sharp tongue are second to none. I’ll be honest, I didn’t realize how good I had it at that time till I didn’t. This isn’t to say there weren’t highlights in the next two places, but they were few and far in between in comparison to The Men’s Wearhouse where every day was pretty much one.
This goofy ass photo took me out. I’ll be honest, sometimes I forget I wore glasses, but come on now Ben, you didn’t get LASIK till 2022! This is California Melissa and I in the Mirror Maze at the Saint Louis Aquarium in June of 2021. We always have THE BEST time when we’re together. She’s one of the most fun-loving and hilarious people I know and is always down for an adventure. We worked together at Macy’s in Escondido, California where she must’ve taught me how to speak “alien” because I feel like we were the only managers there who got one another.
Erin and I with Jessica and her sister, Mia, and brother, Max in June 2021. The five of us have gone to Six Flags St. Louis several times together over the years and I have to say, it feels super sad that 2026 marks the end of Six Flags St. Louis since it got bought out by another company and will be rebranded as something else. The nostalgia will hit hard this year when I go for my last time under that banner considering I’ve been going there my entire life! Love that park, even if it’s certainly no Disney. Hoping the five of us can go again this year and create even more magical memories together.
August 2021 had Melissa and I visiting my cousin, Alyssa, and her boyfriend, Cody, out in Colorado. We had a weekend in Denver where we got to visit and tour the Unsinkable Molly Brown’s home there in Denver. This felt especially important because she’s my favorite character in the movie we watch nearly every year, Titanic. I love a good old house tour and her manor was no exception. It was great seeing where such a legendary character resided. This was top notch. Also, it’s wild to think that there was a period of time – NOT LONG AGO AT ALL NOW – where the intelligent ones of us wore masks daily. My goodness, what a time to have been alive. We lost over a million people to the pandemic, can’t imagine how many more it would’ve been if many of us hadn’t masked up.
Melissa and I stayed in the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. This is the hotel where Stephen King stayed and was inspired to write The Shining. It’s super haunted and I LOVED that! We took this incredible ghost tour where some spooky stuff happened when we were in the basement of the performing arts center. The hairs on my arms were raised, but you best believe I was LOVING it because I LOVE anything to do with the occult, haunts, and spirits! If it’s spooky, give it to me!
While this photo isn’t the best quality or angle or well, anything, it is of me and my old baby, Leo. He was such a sweet kitty, not as sweet as Hockley, but to the best of his ability. I chose it also because you can see the blood in my eye from my LASIK surgery. I maintain that LASIK is THE BEST thing I EVER did for myself! I can see perfectly and don’t get the headaches I used to. It proved to be a Godsend and I’d recommend it to anyone and everyone who can’t see for shit like myself pre-March 2022.
June of 2022 had me, my beloved Jamie, and her niece, Claire, roadtripping to Rapid City, South Dakota to see Mount Rushmore, which can be seen in the reflection of the photo above. It was a real bucket list moment for me. I’d always wanted to see it and couldn’t have found two better people to go with. Jamie and I have known one another for nearly my entire life and our friendship has only grown stronger and greater throughout this time. She really is simply THE BEST. Her niece Claire, well, she has many wondrous skills including being a very talented actress and vocalist, but what she excels best in would undoubtedly be her US History knowledge. She knows it all, just ask her.
This picture from July 2022 felt notable because a.) it is easily the best photo of the five of us DeShon’s (even though technically Melissa’s still a Crouch, but semantics, who cares!?!) b.) the four doggies are all in it though and now there’s only one of them left. Medusa, Fred, Buddy, and Elliot. Poor Elliot, he’s the lone wolf of the pack now. Love all four, but really makes me sad to see these other three gone now.
In July 2022 we held a Britney Spears party at Studio C in our beloved Cutesville. Needless to say, it was THE BEST time! This is me and Melissa with our girls from our Target days: Nancy, Nicole, Katie, and Amy. Just like Rihanna, we truly did find love in a hopeless place. I didn’t have a Britney Spears song to tie into that, but since Britney and Rihanna collaborated on the #1 smash hit remix for S&M I felt it was acceptable to plug-in another artist.
I had probably a thousand photos of us at The Selfie Room in downtown St. Louis, but this one made me laugh the most! The wall of books behind us and the book in my hand felt like subtle foreshadowing to me becoming a published author. Our niece, Madison, who’s looking at the book is also an aspiring author and Erin writes regularly too. This is why Melissa is acting as an American Chairwoman because she doesn’t write.
In October of 2022 we took a tour-de-force trip to New England where we visited seven states in nine days and let me tell you what, it was THE BEST trip ever! I’ve been obsessed with The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and the Headless Horseman since I was a child, so getting to visit the actual Sleepy Hollow, New York was truly a dream come true!
I’ve been a lifelong fan of Peter Pan and Captain Hook. When I was little I would watch Disney’s Peter Pan on repeat, it was THE BEST for me! So, anytime I get to see Pan, Wendy, and Hook in the Parks, I’m seizing the moment! Here’s Melissa, Erin, and I with our friends from Neverland and Gabriel, who joined us on that trip in January 2023. Of my many trips to Disneyland, this experience was one of my favorites. Gabe had never been before and it was great experiencing it all alongside him.
In March of 2023 I went to visit my cousin Cole in New York City and here we are sitting on the MET steps, which if you know anything about Gossip Girl, you’ll understand the significance of this. It was a real moment for me as that is perhaps my all-time favorite television show. XOXO, you know you love me.
This picture took. me. out. I was dying. This is so perfect. Here I am photographing Chris at the “Crawl Zone” at the Anheuser Busch Brewery Tour and honestly, this picture couldn’t be more appropriate. Chris is just living his life and I’m documenting it, just like I did with “Shithead” and am doing with its sequel! No other picture better illustrates the past decade of my life than this one.
Nancy, Melissa, and I with our dearest friend, Edward. Edward and I worked together at Macy’s in Escondido, California (alongside California Melissa) and we’ve maintained our friendship long past that time. He now lives in Florida near Walt Disney World, so anytime and everytime we go down there, we always make a point to see our near and dear friend. He’s the most jovial and jubilant person one could ever know and makes each moment feel like it’s the single most special moment ever. He really is THE BEST!
My amazing friend, Megan, secured the opportunity for us to record a Story Corps interview in October 2023 that is now in the Library of Congress! This was such an incredible experience and I’ll always be grateful to her for it! She and I worked together at TJ Maxx and instantly became friends despite what was at the time a nearly nine year age difference (we’re going with me being 29 here). She’s one of the most real people I know, which is honestly, a lot of my friends, which obviously I love because I’m not here for no bullshit and thankfully, neither is she.
Melissa, Cathy, Megan, and I took mine and Melissa’s most wonderful neighbor boy, Anthony, to the Fabulous Fox Theatre to see Disney’s Aladdin in December 2023 and let me tell you what, it was truly a night I’ll never forget. Anthony had never been to the Fox before and I’ll never forget how mesmerized he was by all of it. Really and truly, the night was perfect in every sense of the word. That kid is the best and he deserves nothing but all the best this world has to offer. Cathy worked at TJ’s with me and Megan and the three of us would go on all kinds of adventures around the STL metro, several of which Sweet Anthony came along. Good times, good times.
Kamber and I took the single most unhinged vacation I’d ever been on in April 2024 to Cancun, Mexico. We stayed at a brand new Secrets Resort that was truly lovely, BUT the room we stayed in had NO WALLS! Meaning that when one was using the restroom the rest of the room was just right there! It was wild. I guess we should’ve anticipated this at a Secrets, but it was still unexpected, especially for two people who are just super good friends! Then there was the flying bat at dinner one night and the scorpion encounters we kept having – thankfully mostly Kamber – but still! What a trip!
In September 2024, Jody (far right) celebrated her parents fiftieth wedding anniversary and as Melissa and I are basically apart of the family, we were there. We have known Jody (and her husband Bob) since 2004 when Melissa and I worked with her at Target! We’ve known Tyler and Cody since they were both toddlers and Alex and Abbey since birth! This is our forever first family and I love these six so much! They really are all simply THE BEST!
I was invited as an influencer to the Missouri Botanical Gardens Christmas in July event to launch the ticket sales of their annual Garden Glow! It was such a special time for me and one that I’ll never forget!
Michael was a groomsman in mine and Melissa’s wedding and then in September 2024, I was one in his and Jenna’s. It was THE BEST experience and one that I am so honored to have been a part of. Love these two with every beat of my heart! I will take full credit for ensuring this outcome. As their manager at Macys’ Mission Viejo, I was able to ensure that they were scheduled together in the same area and that they worked many a shift with one another. This was my most successful attempt at playing Cupid and one that I refer to regularly when playing managerial matchmaker. You can’t tell super a lot from this photo, but I was definitely crying quite a bit that day. Their wedding was beautiful and any talk of Macy’s, of which there definitely was, got me good!
I LOVE MOTOWN MUSIC! So getting the opportunity to visit it (again technically, was there in 2010) in October 2024 was THE BEST for me! Some of the most important songs of all time came from this very building and many of which are staples on my setlist’s. Let me tell you all what, I definitely cried quite a bit that day too. We took that hour long tour and I cried three times! It was a spiritual experience being where Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, and many others stood and made history.
twentyFINe will forever be one of THE BEST experiences of my entire life. Months of planning and shopping and all else all came to fruition on one absolutely perfect evening. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience getting to celebrate my twenty-ninth birthday with my cousin, Cortni, who coincidentally was also turning twenty-nine last year. Amazing how birthday’s can work. Our JCPenney photoshoot day, of which this picture comes from, will forever be one of THE BEST!
I got to meet Geri Halliwell, a.k.a. Ginger Spice of the Spice Girls. It was one of THE BEST moments of my entire life! I’ve loved her for thirty years now and will love her forever. I was beyond nervous here because I was literally meeting a childhood hero and a living legend. Love those five girls Forever.
Here I am with many of my favorites from my most recent employer. Naydelyn, Asa, Jordan, Jaelynne, Jack, my soul sister Chevon, and Aiden. Working alongside these people (and several others) was THE BEST part of an otherwise soulless experience. The prohibition era vibes (that remember, I clearly love) of The Speakeasy made the perfect setting for twentyFINE! This was another one of THE BEST nights ever. Again, need to do events like this more often.
Goofy, Donald, Minnie, Mickey, and Pluto! Gangs all here! I’m still so proud of our Disney Bounds! We nailed it!
I don’t know if you know or not, but I released my debut novel last year, “Shithead!” Kidding! If you don’t know then SHAME ON YOU! I had THE BEST experience with the book signing release party! This picture captured by my dear friend, Darlene, remains one of my absolute favorite pictures of me of all time! This day was THE BEST! I felt so blessed to have about forty of you turn out to get your books signed by me! Can’t wait to do it again this September when I release the sequel!
We became Disney Vacation Club Members in October 2025 while on our perfect trip to Hawaii! It was something I maintain we should’ve done ages ago, but oh well, no time like the present! Can’t wait to make many more Disney moments and memories now that we’re truly the VIP’s we always knew we were!
I GOT TO GO ON STAGE AND SING “ONE MORE SLEEP” WITH LEONA LEWIS this past November 2025! “One More Sleep” is my favorite Christmas song and her signature hit, “Bleeding Love” is my #1 favorite song of ALL time! I’ve probably listened to it 100,000x in my life and will hopefully listen to it three times as many more! I love it with every beat of my heart! This might have been the single greatest moment of my life! 2025 was full of top notch moments, but the year definitely went and saved the best for last!
Had to include something from 2026, so went with this photo of me at the beach with “Shithead.” I had my phone set up against my book bag to take this. Didn’t love the shot, so I went and asked this wonderful woman who I am now friends with on Instagram to take my photo and she took several terrific ones! I had my revelation here that I needed to write a sequel, so that’s what I’ve been hard at work at while I’ve been blessed with this amazing time off! Can’t wait to see what else 2026 brings!
Well, there we have it, 40 photos across 10 years. Hope you all enjoyed this photographic journey as much as I did! It was a real treat to explore all these moments as in depth as I did and while like I said earlier, it brought about a lot of emotions, they were all of THE BEST kind. I truly am blessed by the best, so thank you all.
THANK YOU so much for viewing! I appreciate each and every single one of you, always! Feel free to leave a comment below as I LOVE reading and responding to them! I’ll return soon with another all new post, so until then, I wish you all, all the best!
Working hard everyday towards achieving my goal of becoming an international best-selling author. Wrote the book, just need the agent and publisher. Received the ultimate endorsement when Britney Spears wrote me saying she'd be one of the first in line to buy my book! #FreeBritney
This is AWESOME! Happy Happy Birthday Ben! I am so honored that you have been a part of my life for almost 34 of your 40 years! I love you beyond words dear friend ❤️🎂🎉🎁🥳🎈
This is AWESOME! Happy Happy Birthday Ben! I am so honored that you have been a part of my life for almost 34 of your 40 years! I love you beyond words dear friend ❤️🎂🎉🎁🥳🎈