Texas Trip

Our Texas adventure is over--the laundry is done, the chigger bites are disappearing and now we just need to remember to develop our photos! We took 12 days on our road trip which included Carlsbad Caverns, a family reunion, the American Girl Doll store, visits with two sets of grandparents and a visit to our old ward in Bryan. We had a wonderful visit and we were actually not in a hurry to get home (usually I get homesick after a week or so.) Here are a few photos from our trip.
1) Carlsbad Caverns--nice to feel a little cool in July! Very exciting to see all of the stalactites, stalagmites, popcorn, columns, etc.
2)Mile High Strawberry Pie with Sandi!
3) Wilson Arch --a quick hike off the highway to a beautiful arch. Note--flip flops not recommended!
4) American Girl Doll Store--Note how nice Kaya looks after her $20 hair do! The girls saved and saved for this event. We topped it off with dessert at the bistro. Very fun day--too expensive to do again anytime soon!

My dear friend

About 3 years ago, I found out that one of my best friends, Karen, had cancer. It was scary and we just hoped and prayed that the worst would not happen, but it did. She died June 18, 2010. I've been missing her this past month, and I know that will continue. I have found that it's easy to make casual friends, but true bosom friends are harder to come by. Karen and I met in Texas at church. We quickly hit it off and shared a lot of late nights laughing as we worked on projects for church. After we moved, she and I called each other every few weeks--mostly on Sundays --to catch up. I miss her a lot on Sunday afternoons now, and I'm missing her tonight. Karen loved me and my family and we all loved her back. Here's a photo of me and my buddy from last summer. Love you Karen!