The first days of 2012

Over the last nine days I have spent over thirty hours in the car traveling to see friends and family. We started the trip on a sad note. My family and I headed to Cincinnati for my Grandfathers funeral. It was a sad occasion, but it was good to be able to celebrate his life with those who loved him. The theme of the two days and the overall message of the homily was how he had lived a good life and was a good man. I want to leave that type of legacy behind me - family and friends who love me and nothing but kind words to be said.

Despite the sad circumstances, it was good to see family. I haven't seen most of my family in four years. It was so good to reconnect with aunts, uncles, and cousins. Aren't the Dehne girls just precious?

After a few days in Cincinnati, I headed to Bloomington for New Years Eve. Jessica, Murphy, and I came from North Carolina, Ohio, & Kansas to be with each other for the occasion. We didn't really have any set plans so we just went with it. It ended up being a night filled with the joy of seeing old friends and so much love.

I was good friends with Katie and Ali my sophomore year of high school. We lost touch when I moved over six years ago, but it was so fun to run into them at IU!

We all loved ringing in 2012 together. Someone told us that the state of being you were in at midnight was an indicator of what your year is going to look like. If that is true, 2012 is going to be full of excitement, incredible friends, and love. I can't wait.

The next day we headed to Indy for a CT lunch. We sat in Paradise Bakery Cafe for over three hours and just loved being with each other.

The lunch was followed by a trip to Kokomo, Camp Tecumseh, Rock Creek, and finally back down to Fischers. The first days of 2012 were filled with wedding planning, hilarious heytell messages, not taking enough pictures of our time together, and just loving the fact that we were all together. It is rare that we get to be real life friends with our camp friends in seasons other than summer so this was a real treat.

I spent my last day in Indiana with Molly crafting. I found this box at goodwill and I just had to get it.

I think it turned out well. 

Molly was excited to join the ranks of crayon artists. I think it looks pretty great.

Yesterday, I hoped in the car to head to Des Moines. There I was able to spend time with a friend, expanded the list of movies I've seen, and take some time to relax. I finally made it home around 8:30 tonight.

The first few days of 2012 were filled with lots of driving, but they were filled with so many new memories with incredible friends. I loved being able to just be with people that I love and laugh about how weird we are. As I'm entering my last semester at Drake I want to focus on just being with people. I want to soak up my last days of being a student, of being an active member of DG, and living with Carley & Emily. I think this semester and year are going to be filled with great things.