I’m just going to throw it out there. I have some of the most amazing friends anyone could ever ask for. I knew this, but I just keep getting reminded over and over again. People that put up with an ocean between us, often unreliable internet, dropped phone calls and a 6 hour time difference.

And tonight I’m so excited because one of my favorite people in the world booked her plane ticket to come out here (or down here??). Granted, it’s still over 5 months away, but I can hardly contain my excitement.

Okay, I’m off to bed. [I'm pretty sure I'm going to fall asleep with a smile on my face tonight.]

Yesterday was a good day. We painted hope house during the day…

and had a costume party to celebrate Marc’s half-birthday at night.

we didn’t get a picture of everyone. shame. but here are 10 of us. [i was a substitute teacher. a costume i blatantly stole from amy--she was one last year for halloween. i intended to be pippi longstocking, but forgot about trying to find a metal hanger for my hair until the last minute.] click here for more pics.

*check out Jody’s hair (in the pink), she was Cindy Lou Who from the Grinch. Nice, huh?!

…i was born. here’s what we did to celebrate…

peirce woke everyone up by yelling “wakey-wakey eggs and bacey”

kaylen made amazing omelets (and there was french toast, pancakes, apple goodness, chocolate chocolate chip muffins, appletiser, the list goes on…)

pictures of me sans make-up are always interesting…

marc decided to match in honor of my birthday (if he can just not wear this same outfit 3 days in a row again, that would be great….)

we watched a little tv and i went and took a nap. then, i painted my nails…

linkin park after dark…my current favorite (mom– it’s not black, it’s dark purple…)

i went running…today was beautiful!

then, we watched a little bit of the world cheerleading championship (it was a re-run, i think we watched the same thing a month ago…). and my friend Stephanie called. We tend to have a little issue with phone tag….

i can’t even express how amazing it was to hear her voice!…(this is a pic of her and Sean the night before I left Orlando…). I got to talk to parents and wish my dad happy fathers day

we had a little pizza for dinner…my friends made me an amazing birthday video, complete with a “music video”-i’ll post that after it’s compressed…it’s really funny

and i talked to Amy for awhile. she’s in Iowa…i love the stories! (this picture is an oldie but a goodie–showing off our happy meal watches in belgium 2 years ago–I don’t think we ever figured out how to use the watches…) AND I was able to have a quick convo with Carolina before i went to bed.

it was a good day.

last night i got together with a few friends for a journal making party. it was fun to be able to spend time with the girls. my creation is a little rough around the edges, but that just gives it character right?

my friend Brittany had me over for a birthday lunch today. it was amazing. it’s no exaggeration to say it was the best cake of my life. even Brit was impressed with her creation, and she’s her own biggest critic. and she even set me home with leftovers!

the table….we had black bean soup. my fav! AND you have to import the black beans from the states because they don’t have them here, so this is a big deal.

my cake….

close up of the cake….so amazing!