I spent my last few days here just hanging out with some of my besties. Lots of laughing for sure (you know whenever Leslie is involved, there will be lots of laughing!!). I've moved around a lot in my life (pretty much every 3-4 years) and have friends in many, many states :) When I was younger, I was the best pen pal- I'm a pro at writing about the nothingness that happens in my life! I kept in touch with friends from Culpeper (junior high) four or five years after I left and still know what's going on in most of my high school best friends lives. Things like email, Skype and Facebook make it a little easier to keep up with people once you move yet life happens and you just start to drift apart and invest in the relationships that are right in front of you. But sometimes you meet people that you know are going to be friends for a lifetime and that's how I feel about these girls. What's an ocean amongst friends, right? I love you girls and will miss you tons!!!

Probably the toughest thing about this move is having to say goodbye to my sister and her kids. Lyddane, you are my best friend and I'll miss you more than you'll know! Don't let Britt, Jacob and Kali forget their Tia who loves them so much!! Sadly I don't think I have a picture with all 3 kids at the same time :( I didn't think of that while I was home.

What a wonderful night!!

Thanks to my wonderful friends who took me out for my birthday.  Hosanna planned a great evening- took me to two new places that I had not tried before which was exactly what I wanted.  We went to Cafe Ismir for dinner and Trinity Hall for dessert.  Lower Greenville has such a fun atmosphere.  The night was full of great friends and lots of laughter (thank you Leslie!)  

On another note- I am completely moved out of Little Elm and residing with Leslie for the week.  Shout out to John and Wes Prater for helping me move all my big stuff on Saturday.  My commute has increased dramatically- luckily work is pretty laid back this week so I don' t have a lot of lesson plan prep before school.  

Leaving for England on Saturday- Woohoo!  I'm so excited but also getting a little nervous about just meeting all the kids and being full force back into Young Life- it has been a while.  I've felt so busy lately but am really trying to stay in the Word and rely upon God for all the things I'm worried about.  I know God has brought all this about and I'm excited to see what He's going to do!

We had a fun dinner party for Easter and everyone brought a dish to share.  

I love tomato, mozzarella, and basil salad.  I also love this picture- Andy told me it could be in a cookbook and that made me so proud.

Being the photographer I never actually get a picture of myself but that is okay :)

This past weekend my family and I went to the Cowboys game and watched them beat Tampa Bay!  It was a pretty good game even if Romo wasn't playing :(

My camera can get a pretty good zoom to the field- we weren't actually that close. 

My roommate gave me some preseason Mavs tickets a few weekends ago.  Lynn, Kurt, Jacob and Kali went with me and we had lots of fun.  I had never been to a basketball game before and even though it's not my favorite sport, it's always a fun environment.  We had pretty good seats too- Thanks Jess!

September and October provide lots of fun weekend festivals to attend!  Lyddane and I had a fun girls day hanging out at Grapefest in Grapevine.  We had lots of yummy wine from her neighbor's winery,    Su Vino.  

Laura and I met up with my sister and the kids at Oktoberfest in Addison.  It always makes me laugh that Oktoberfest is actually still held in September but it's fun none the less- even though it might actually be cooler in October.  It was still a little hot the day we went.  They had awesome German food and beer.  I mean, that's why we go to the festivals, right?!!

 Laura getting ready to eat her giant turkey leg!  Luckily I had the camera so there are no photos of me chowing down on the bratwurst and funnel cake!

Kali is a dancing queen- she kept dragging everyone out to the floor- especially Jacob!  He was a good older brother and danced with her most of the time.

They were so cute- lots of fun dancing to polka music!How do kids get suckered into wearing lederhosen?  I think I would have disowned my parents :)

SNOW!!

Now if you know me at all, you know that I'm not a huge fan of snow (with the exception of "snow days= no school").  We got about 6 inches on Thursday and all my roommates decided we should all go outside and play in the snow.  I let them do all the work and I took the pictures (and accessorized the snowman!)