Short Trip Home

As some of you may know I took a trip to Michigan for a long weekend. I flew home to celebrate my cousin's wedding shower and my Grandparents' 80th birthdays. I was so excited to go home. My plane was to leave on Thursday at 11pm CA time.

There were a billion things to get done before I got out the of work. As I was heading out of the building I decided to go down a stairwell I hadn't gone down before. Well I got down to the bottom lobby floor and pushed...but the door would not open. I kept pushing and pounding but still it wouldn't budge! I hiked back up to the third floor where my office is and that door was locked too! I had a key so I tried it, but the key was not for this particular door.

It was hot and all I could think was "ugghhhh....I really don't want to miss my flight!" Luckily I decided to call everyone I could think of in the office and pounded on the door as loudly as I could. A co-worker heard my banging and came to the rescue, though slightly confused as to why I was needing rescuing. There was really no time to explain. But I made it home and to the airport fine, despite being stuck in the stairwell at work. My flight was delayed an hour but I still managed to land in Lansing, MI by 10am on Friday.

After working all day and taking the red-eye to MI, I was pooped by the time we landed. But the sunshine did wonders and my Mom, Nanna, and I began to shop for the last minute wedding shower needs. Once home Mom had us help with assembling the decorations and preparing the food. My Boppa even came over and assisted us with putting little boxes together. It was fun to chat with everyone as we assembled the items. Shortly after Boppa arrived my Uncle Doug and Aunt Jane stopped in. It was so much fun! My brother and his wife Nicole arrived with their dog Bailey around dinner time, and my Dad came in from work. We were done with the preparations and enjoyed a relaxing night eating pizza, one of our favorites!

I awoke early the next morning for our double party. The shower first and the B-day dinner later. We packed up the cars and headed to the church. My family is amazing, they all came to the church early to help set up. Everyone pitched in and I believe the wedding shower was truly wonderful and beautiful thanks to everyone's help! My cousin Cathy and Matt had a great time and it was so nice to see everyone there to support them. Shortly after the shower was over, we had dinner at my Grandparents' favorite restaurant called Hersheys. It was wonderful to have the whole group there, minus James. We took pictures, had great food, and spent time chatting and catching up.

The next day I was able to see my friend Devon whom I don't get to see very much. It was such a joy, to see her again and pick up right where we left off the last time. Devon joked that our visits are are like an eclipse, rare and far between. We had fun talking about all the updates and where the Lord is leading us in our lives.Hopefully we'll get some more time again when I come home in October for my cousin's wedding. After visiting with Devon, my cousin Cathy and I had some one on one time too. How fun it was to catch up on her life and to hear all the wedding plans and preparations. It wasn't too long ago when James and I were in the same boat :)

Later on Sunday my Mom, Dad, and I went to the East Lansing Folk Festival. It was great! There were many really good bands playing. My favorite was an Arcadian band from Canada. They sang some songs in English and some in French. They danced and played at least two instruments each. So fun!!! The weather wasn't holding up though and it rained, so we went to see the movie "Swing Vote". A very cute movie with a great message.

Monday during the day my Grandparents and my Dad came over to each lunch with me and chat before I went to the airport. It was nice and relaxing! Before I knew it I was on a plan ride back to CA again. On the flight home someone had an allergic reaction and the plane took an emergency landing in New Mexico. So I didn't get to bed until late. When I came home James had fresh flowers for me!

It was weird to come back to CA where everything is dry, brown, and warm. MI had beautiful green grass and trees. The weather was even slightly cold and rainy. It's strange how when you're here in CA you start to miss the rain...even if it does make you want to stay inside. So that was my whirlwind trip to MI. I miss my family already!

James is working on a music video today! He met some great people over the weekend on the short film project. He went in really early this morning and I'm still waiting for him to get home. I so happy for him to have this opportunity. I can't wait to hear all about it. You'll have to check out his blog for more info on what it's about. I can't wait for this weekend. I'm hoping to finally get some quality hang out time with him.

The next two weeks are a little crazy at work. There are a lot of people coming into the office for meetings. It should be fun but busy! Some other fun news is that I recently found out that I will be going to DC for a work trip the week before my cousin's wedding. James will be able to join me and we'll most likely be able to see our family and friends in the DC/VA area! How cool huh?

Well that's it for now soon I'll post the pictures from my short trip home!