Long Overdue Update

I'm not really sure what happened to my blogging... But now I'm back! To ease back into it, I thought I'd just start with a long over-due update on my travels and happenings over the last couple of months. Nothing deep or serious, just what I've been up to.


I left off on my last post right before I headed to California to begin a 2 week travel whirlwind full of friends, work, and lots of fun! I arrived in Sacramento where my great friends Jesse and Marcus picked me up. As we were walking around Sacramento, somehow San Francisco came up and when I mentioned that I'd never been, they said it was less than two hours away. So of course... we hopped in the car and headed to the bay!


We didn't have much time, but here are some shots from our time at Pier 39:

Jesse and I:

Marcus and I: (Shout out to Jill & Cory... Marcus's VA Tech shirt drew a LOT of attention!) :)

Alcatraz... Jesse swam from the Island to shore last year, and he's doing it again this year, plus running the golden gate bridge when he's finished! He's my hero. :)

After a couple of hours in San Fran, we headed to Jesse's parent's house for Easter weekend. Lots of friends and family joined us for a sleepover, and we had a great time playing on the ranch, riding four wheelers, cooking out, climbing (and falling out of) trees, and just enjoying a special weekend with fantastic people! (Unfortunatley, I was having too much fun to snap any photos!)

From there I spent the week with Jesse and Marcus in Chico, where they go to school. It was a busy week, but we had a great time as I accompanied them to meetings, school, the office, and of course we spent some time having fun away from campus as well! Other highlights - girl time with Amy Lewis and helping Carey host trivia night at the Banshee!

Thursday night we loaded up in Carey's truck and drove to Fresno for California FFA's state convention. I got to see many friends, as well as watch and coach two of the national FFA officers, Nessie and Paul. They did a great job, and it was a great week! One of my only photos from the week: Marcus, Nessie, and her regional advisor, Mr. Beard:
After the conference was over, I spent an extra night with friends in Fresno. It was fun to spend some downtime with people I usually only see at work events.

I miss chocolate shakes and smoothies with Jimmy:

The next morning I got on a plane and headed to the opposite coast for a few days in Florida! My first stop was Gainesville. It was incredible to be back in a place that is so special to me, with people who are even more special. A girl's day with Christy, dinner with Elio, Erica and Brady at Sonny's (one of my favorites!) and chilling at the house on 34th St. with Elio just like old times was just what I needed.

Yay for Sonny's sweet tea & corn nuggets!
After my short time in G'ville I hopped in the car and headed to Tampa to pick up some of my favorite people from the airport! We were there for my best friend Tracy's bachellorette party weekend at the beach. Tracy, her mom, her sister Karen and Shauna flew in and we headed to our condo on the beach in Treasure Island! It was a very fun weekend. Time on the beach is always good... and there is nothing quite like being there with some of the people who know you best. A weekend with my best friend and second family was so good for the soul. Some pictures of the fun:

Playing on the beach at night: Dragging ourselves away from the sand for a fun dinner and night out:

Back in Indy, we celebrated Marty's birthday early before he left for China. Good times! Whitney and I put our bargain shopping and decorating skills to the test and spent a weekend re-decorating the downstairs of our town house. We had a blast hunting for furniture and accessories at antique stores and retro shops all over Indy, and were pretty excited with the results!

After a couple of weeks at home it was time to head out for another two weeks on the road. First I spent a week in College Station, TX with the national officers for a week of training and coaching. It was weird to be there and know that I almost ended up there for grad school, and wonder about how different life would be now if I had gone there! I had a good week being with the team, and catching up with my old FFA friend Dustin.

From College Station I headed straight to Asheville, North Carolina for the much anticipated wedding of Christy & Elio! I love both of them so much! It was a BEAUTIFUL setting (the Grove Park Inn), a beautiful ceremony, and a blast of a reception with great friends from all over the country. Congratulations to the Chiarellis! Friends at the wedding:

Of course I had lots of fun dancing with Barrett :) We don't get to do that very often these days! I really miss Tate, the most southern gentleman I know! Erica... she thinks her name is Shelby. Her favorite colors are blush and bashful. Amy. I miss long bike rides and suffering through runs with her.
From one wedding to another... I headed from Asheville to Fayetteville for the wedding of Tracy & Seth. Talk about a fun and special week! I spent a few days with the family before Tracy & Seth arrived in town (and got to rub my little sister's pregnant belly for the first time!). After that, wedding fun and preparation began!

Me with Melissa and Tracy, high school best friends at the bachellorette party:

Breck and Jennie: new friends are a perk of friends getting married!



Tracy married a Buckeye fan. Luckily I have Jennie, a fellow Gator to keep me company when I'm among all the OSU people... We love to give them a hard time! I love her! (Us downtown after the rehearsal dinner)



Jennie and I with the groom's cake. In case you're not familiar with Gator football, we're holding up the score of the national championship football game the Gators won against the buckeyes. (41-14) It was so good to hang out with Melissa!

We love getting together with Hawley when we're home!

If everyone had a Tracy in their life, the world would be a better place.

She married a wonderful man! (Who I like to claim responsibility for her meeting, as I drug her to the concert where they met) I like to call Seth my best friend in-law. :)

The girls from high school: Melissa, Sarah, Tracy, Crystal and I.

The Nash-Rothey wedding was so fun and such a blessing to be a part of. Thanks to both families for your work and hosting wonderful events! It couldn't have been better!

So there you have it... the last couple of months summed up into a few pictuers and paragraphs. As for what's happening now, things are really starting to get busy again. Although national FFA convention is not until October, planning is starting to really pick up, and I'm doing a lot of prep work for when the national officers are in town for convention planning and training. This week I'll head out on my last bit of vacation for a very long time :). I'm going to DC for the 4th of July - I'll get to see my roommate who I've been without all summer, as well as LOTS of great friends from all over the country. After that, it's back to Indy, traveling for work, and full-on convention planning and execution. I'm excited, nervous, anxious and ready for all of it! Bring it on!