The husband is off getting his hair cut so I figured it was a good time to start on Part 2, though I’m not sure it will get posted today (Sunday). You may be thinking to yourself, “I thought you gave the husband haircuts?” Well folks, I did…and now I don’t. The first time it worked like a charm. The second time, I apparently had forgotten everything I had learned. The third time we were hopeful that the second time was just a fluke…it was not. They should give military spouses lessons on how to cut hair if you ask me…
Anyway, back to the update on my wonderful vacation. Thursday, I headed up to Topeka to visit Teresa and Julie, two awesome ladies I worked with at Avondale West. I was so excited to see them (and Miss Jenna and Miss Ashlyn- Teresa’s granddaughters)! I was hoping I could stop by the school to see everyone, but they were on spring break, so I’ll have to save that visit for the next time I come home. It was a lot of fun to catch up with them and hear about how their school years are going. It really made me miss teaching with them at AW though.
Friday was a mom/daughter shopping day! I’ve really missed those since I moved to Florida. There’s nothing quite like spending a day shopping with your mom and catching up on life. We hit up Panera for lunch, and I’m just going to say, if you’ve never had their Cobb Salad- get it! It’s amazing! After spending the day shopping, I headed out for dessert with Alison (hey, I had a salad for lunch). I don’t get to talk to her a whole lot, but when we get together, it’s non-stop talking for hours! I even got some puppy love from her dog, Brownie!
Saturday I headed up to the Plaza with Amanda to get a Chocolate Bag from McCormick & Schmick’s. There are no words. It was every bit as amazing as she said it would be. My advice is to split it with someone, because it really is very rich. After that, we headed to girls night with Alison and Heather! I loved having my best friends under the same roof for the night! We even had several special guests, including Eliana (Heather’s baby), George (aka Pheven-Heather’s puppy), and Henry (Heather’s kitty). It was seriously a blast and I can’t wait to hang out with the three of them again! It makes a girl’s heart happy when her closest friends get along so well and WANT to hang out with each other!
Sunday, mom, dad, and I met with a couple to discuss potentially being the photographers for their wedding in November– we landed the gig! The bride just happened to cheer with me in high school, and to say I’m excited to photograph her wedding is an understatement! This makes 3 weddings (so far) that dad and I get to photograph this year, and I couldn’t be more thrilled! Not only does it mean more trips back to MO, but it also means having the team back together! Who knows, maybe the husband will be able to join me on one of those trips!
Monday, mom and I did part 2 of mother/daughter shopping. We ended up at Panera again, and I bet you can guess what we got… Cobb Salad for the win! After dropping her off at the house, I headed to Archie to visit my Nana and Granddad! I love listening to Nana tell stories about her childhood and growing up. I also love listening to her tales as a military spouse. Granddad had eye surgery a couple of days after I left (all went well), so they caught me up on all of that too, as well as his campaign for DAV State Commander. He devotes a lot of time and energy into helping veterans, and if anyone deserves the position, it’s him! Hands down.
After spending time with Nana and Granddad, I headed home to get dad so we could go on one of our famous photo outings (basically hopping in the car and driving around until we see something we want to take pictures of). It’s one of my favorite things to do, and I love having that quality time with him, doing something we both have a passion for. We drove the back roads and ended up finding a couple of places to stop. My favorite one was our stop at a Bradford Pear Tree. Those things are seriously so beautiful! I’ve included a couple of pictures below.
Monday was the last real day of my trip, and Tuesday I headed back home to Florida. The husband was just a bit excited to see me, as was I to see him! I even got picked up in a newly cleaned car, and walked in the front door to a clean home. I’m a very lucky wife!
Even though I’m a photographer, I am terrible about taking “in-the-moment” pictures when I’m out and about, so the only pictures I have to add here are of my photo outing! You’ll just have to imagine the rest of it! 😉
