August 3rd, REALLY???? I'm pretty sure that I was just ringing in 2014 (from my bed in Malongo) yesterday. Let's rewind to June/July, here's what's been happening...
CABO: Brian is 3-0
So on June 13th my big bro turned 30, which is awesome because I can make snarky comments all the time about how he is 30. I just choose to ignore the fact that it also means that I am only 3 years away from the start of my 3rd decade. Anyway, the only want to properly ring in the big three-oh is to take a trip, right?? Off to Cabo San Lucas we went for a few days of all inclusive relaxation with some of the best people we know...
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Hello Cabo, I love you.
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pool time
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COS/The Springs: Colorado Springs with my lovelies
Sally, Elise, and I spent the better part of our college
career sitting in our living room "studying" (watching YouTube videos
of laughing babies, the Mantauge, Cheech and Chong, and whatever else Sally
came across) So going nearly 2 years without the 3 of us being together is just
unacceptable. Sally and her husband, Lincoln, live in Colorado Springs with
their fur child, Franklin. For those of you who have never been to The Springs
(that's what the locals call it), I highly recommend it. Not
only is the town nestled literally at the foot of the Rockies, but it is just
the most gorgeous mixture of old and new.
After spending an afternoon in Denver sampling our fair share of
microbrews and checking out a Rockies game, we made our way to The
Springs. The rest of the weekend was
full of girl talk, hiking, shopping, eating, and exploring COS – oh, and
celebrating America’s birthday with front row seats to the fireworks show!
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surprise!!!
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America. Baseball.
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| that's about right. |
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LOTS of love for these two little ladies
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the most gorgeous dog park ever
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Happy birthday America, Wreck 'Em!
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H-town: Economics and my people
After a couple getaways, I headed back to Houston for a
class in Petroleum Economics. As an
official 5-year employee, I should have graduated our onboarding program by now
buttttt I’m a little behind schedule, so I’m having to take a few classes
during my off time this year. Lucky for
me, the econ class that I took was SUPER interesting, and bonus was that I
stayed put in Houston for 9 whole days!
Naturally, I spent any minute out of class with my favorite people just
eating and drinking my way through Houston.
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typical selfie with the bestie
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favorites.
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Home, sweet, home: Lunch dates and Northpark
Anytime I have a few free days, I try to get up to Dallas to hang with mom, dad, Dust and of course, Nana and Papa. When I went home this last time, I decided to reach out to one of my oldest friends that I haven't talked to in quite some time. Jenn has one of the biggest hearts of anyone I know, and recently I started thinking about how sad I am that we had lost touch over the past few years. So much has happened in her life including getting engaged and having a little girl, so obviously it was time to catch up. It was so amazing to see the woman that Jenn has become and how her little girl, Blakely, has turned her life in such a positive direction. Our photoshoots weren't exactly successful, but clearly she's just the most precious almost-two year old ever!
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just teaching Blakely the ins and outs of Instagram
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FAIL
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| I can't believe it took me almost two years to meet this precious thing! |
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Reunited!
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Northpark, Le Madeline, and gooooood company
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The COAST: family. bonding.
Then we were Port Aransas bound on a good, old fashioned
family road trip. Growing up, we used to
meet my mom’s side of the family down at the coast every summer – our big
summer vacation! As we got busy with
high school activities and then college, the trips to the coast got few and far
between, so we haven’t all gotten together for a beach weekend in years. Needless to say, we were all very excited to get back together again...
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family road trip!
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1999 family photo
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15 years later...
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The Golden State: babes and my babe
I spent my last week off in California just asking myself why I ever left! I got to catch up with most of my CA loves during the week, and then Chad and I set off for the central coast for a quick weekend trip. It still blows my mind that it can be 100+ degrees in Bakersfield, and then just 2 hours West we were in the mid-60's. The views weren't so bad either :)
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| EPOCH Winery |
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| Somewhere along highway 46 |
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gorgeous hike, fog and all
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| oh hey cutie. |
Down in Affffffricaaaaa
So here I am, back in Africa, and very far away from all the Ebola outbreaks - no need to panic! It's been pretty chilly (lows in the upper 70's) and overcast here since I've been back. The cloudy days have made it hard to get out of bed in the mornings, but I did see the sun for a few minutes yesterday afternoon so hopefully she will make her way back to Angola soon! I'll be here for 6 weeks; my longest hitch to date, so say a few prayers that I don't completely lose my mind.
5 days down, 37 to go! xoxo....
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