Thanksgiving Highlights

Well, I took a whopping 1 picture during our 10 days in Texas (and stole one from my mom). Oops. We had a great trip. I'll just list some of the highlights.

• Getting to enjoy a delicious Cajun lunch with Darby's brother, sister-in-law, nephews, and cousin.
• A whirlwind trip to Oklahoma City to visit Darby's grandpa (and talk briefly with Uncle Greg and cousin Beth).
• Cooking some of the Thanksgiving meal with Debby
• Finding out I'm awesome at Wii boxing :)
  
• Mom's apple pie and Blue Bell homemade vanilla ice cream
• Neighborhood walks with Dad, Hannah, Matt, and Tori (Matt's girlfriend)
• A Just Dance 3 marathon with Hannah, Matt, and Tori
• Black Friday shopping with Hannah
  
• 2 Sundays at Robinson. It's always nice to go back and see everyone. Although I'm starting to feel like an old woman. Every time I go back, I just can't believe that all of the little kids I knew are now in high school or college.
  

It was such a fun time to be with everyone. Since we had such a long time, I really felt like we got to spend quality time with both of our families and weren't rushing from one place to another all the time. And I ate so much good food. I decided to wear the same jeans I had worn on the trip down on the way back, and they were soo tight. :/

Unfortunately, fall completely left Champaign-Urbana while we were gone. It is now decidedly winter. But, we get to go back to Texas in just a few weeks for Christmas, so it's not too bad.

Jessica's Wedding

Last week, I went down to Texas for my friend Jessica's wedding. Jessica was part of my group of high school church girlfriends. I don't get to see those girls very much, but they are still so special to me. I missed the weddings of two of them (Krista and Stephanie), and I felt so guilty about it. I hated missing out on their special days, and I also hated missing out on time with all of the other girls. So, this summer, I made a commitment to not miss out on any more friends' special days, if at all possible.

I'm so glad I was able to go. The wedding was lovely, and Jessica looked absolutely beautiful. A lot of us stayed at Jecca's house the night before the wedding, and we were talking and laughing just like old times. (I also talked in my sleep just like old times.) Jessica put together a dance workout class for us after the rehearsal dinner. It was hilarious. Picture about 12 people with the same level of coordination as me and 2 actually good dancers.

I was so blessed to have such a strong group of girlfriends during my middle school and high school years. And, even though, they're not as much a part of my daily life now, I feel equally blessed that we can pick up where we left off whenever we do see each other.

The beautiful bride and me

Steph, me Krista, and Whitney in the photo booth at the reception

And to prove that we didn't look that bad:

Me and Stephy

Krista and Me

Me and Whit

Halloween Fun

We had a relatively low-key Halloween this year. On Friday night, we helped out at our Fall Festival at church. Darby and I were in charge of the bucket toss, along with our friend Kim. The woman I tutor came with her husband and 15-month-old, so I had a lot of fun showing them around. I tried to convince Darby to dress up, but he didn't feel up to it this year. Oh, well. I'll save my idea for next year. :)

Last night, we had the ACU group over for a fall dinner. I made this yummy Pioneer Woman soup and this autumn sangria. I set up a little caramel apple bar where people could dip them in different toppings (Heath bits, Butterfinger, peanuts, chocolate). I really like caramel apples but only about once a year. They're just so messy! This time, I melted the caramel in the Crock-Pot, which really made it a lot easier. It was a nice evening with friends. I'm trying to soak in the remaining fall loveliness before dreaded winter sets in.