BONUS!

My sister and her family happened to come to Cali while I was there, and after the wedding I got to go meet them at the beach for a few hours. It was so great to see them all!


Andrea and I. She fell and hurt her lip their first night there. :(














Momma and Andrea. Lori is my oldest sister and she lives in Arizona.













Baby bruver, otherwise known as Junior. :) Isn't that one of the most amazing faces you've seen? I couldn't stop kissing him.










Andrea and I had lots of fun making sand castles and jumping over waves coming in. Her laughter is SO infectious!

August

It's only the 17th, but it feels like the month is almost over. I'll do my best to give a quick recap of what's happened lately, and tell a little bit of what's on the horizon for Erica Smith.

It all started by going to California for two fabulous weeks of fun and wedding festivites with Amy and Monica, and of course, Pat too. The first couple days were spent packing the girls shared apartment, moving Amy and Pat to their new one and Monica to her new one, and cleaning the old one cleaner than it's ever been. :) All of this involved morning coffee runs, late nights, lots of heavy lifting, and millions of ascended and descended stairs. Needless to say we were all dirty, sweaty, and pretty unattractive for these first several days.

The beginning of the next week was great! We got Amy and Pat somewhat settled into their new place, with Mon and I taking over their guest room with our bags and such. The highlight of these days, for me, were the nightly 'hand and foot' games we'd play. It was Mon and I vs. Amy and Pat, and inspite of my serious handicaps (not having played in two years) we held our own. We also went to their church, followed by the beach, and pretty much just relaxed. We started looking and smelling a lot better too. :) Oh yeah, and went to Taco Tuesday at Over the Boarder for 99 cent tacos!

On Wednesday, before the wedding, Amy's college roommate Jana got in town and Pat and I got to meet her for the first time. It was magical. :) Seriously, she's great and I loved getting to know her. Then on Thursday all but one of the groomsmen flew in. Three of them had been in China with Pat at one time or another, so we all had a lot to talk about, and it was so much fun spending time all together. That night we girls went to a Jo Dee Messina concert that was great, except for the crazy pushing lady next to us. Friday we all went to the beach and then hung out at Amy and Pat's that night. Saturday was the rehearsal and dinner, which was super great and fun, and then... the wedding day!

Okay, the big day. Everything turned out just right: the flowers, the weather, the number of people, the food. It was just great. The bride, gorgeous and glowing, was relaxed and the groom was handsome and could hardly keep his hands off his wife. I was seriously impressed by the photographer, the dancing was fun, and Monica's toast was touching and funny. She's brilliant. The day was one of the happiest I've had, and I was so thankful to be a part of it.
Finally, it was over. The day was done. Amy and Pat headed off to Mexico for their honeymoon, and Monica and I enjoyed one last night and morning together. It was really strange saying goodbye and going back to Missouri, like I was time traveling or something. A couple friends took me to the airport and now, here I am, back in my classroom working away. And by working I mean, blogging. :) School starts next Thursday and I've met a few of the kiddos already. Not sure I'm ready, but when are we ever really ready for transitions in our lives? I'm still thinking a lot about boundaries for myself, which things to keep and which to let go of. I'm looking forward to a fun and fruitful school year, and listening for God's continued direction in my life. Hope you enjoyed the saga.