Meet me in St. Louie...

What a great weekend in St. Louis!! I conquered the drive without too much difficulty. I took my sweet time & enjoyed the ride, the back roads, & the time alone! :) It only took 5 1/2 hours thanks to mapquests genius directions & back roads abilities! (SMILE) I arrived on Friday...I was greeted by Abby running out of the house in her curlers (yes, when I saw her I almost turned around and sped back home)....Ana was also there...which was a DELIGHT! We sat around talking for awhile & enjoying some R&R before the evening. It was so wonderful to be there.

Abby in her curlers to come welcome me to STL!

Friday Night: We went to the STL Zoo and walked around for a bit. They were having a free fake Beatles concert...so we took it all in for a bit. We enjoyed walking and seeing some of the animals (though it makes me sad to see them caged up) & then we had some good laughs at the concert, especially at some interesting she/man dancing crazily. I'm pretty sure he/she could have been diagnosed with some disorder! After the zoo/concert we went to the Muny. We had planned on seeing 'Meet me in St. Louie' but Matt called & invited us to his house for a party--so we left the Muny-- since we were in the free seats, it didn't matter. We went to Target for a bit & then headed over to Matt's where we enjoyed his party for the rest of the night!


Getting ready for the zoo concert




Loving the Giraffes!

At the Muny waiting for the show to start--but we never saw it...whoops, we went to a party instead. Hey, that fits in with our Liberal Arts education, right?

Abby, her cousin Matt, & me

Matt & I dancing

Saturday: We slept in pretty late since we had a late evening on Friday night. When we got up and ready we went to the Arch since I had never been there. I've been to STL numerous times but have never seen the Arch. We had quite a time getting there since the All-Stars were in town & thus, the whole downtown was detoured--but we managed to make it eventually--even after getting lost in East STL! haha. I am glad I was able to finally see the Arch in person, but it is not really something to do over & over again. We had fun though walking around, people watching, & looking at all the commotion for the All-Stars game.

Touching the Arch

Steph & Abby enjoying their wine at "Girls' Night."

After the Arch & our many detours downtown we went to run our errands & do our shopping for the lake & BBQ the next day. We had to run to the pool store for a patch, grocery shop, & make sure everything that we needed was gotten. We were going to go to Saturday night Mass before heading to Stephanie's for our "Girls' night." Abby and I were still tired, so we slept instead and opted for the early morning Sunday Mass...it was a nice nap! :) We went over to Stephanie & Danny's. We even let Danny stay for a few minutes before we kicked him out of the house so we could enjoy some time together catching up! It was a very low-key but wonderful night. Abby & Steph had wine (I had water...dumb tummy...though I did take a few sips of their wine now & then). We enjoyed each other's company--talking, solving the world's issues, & discussing everything. I was really happy and thankful to be with them Saturday night. Stephanie is a high school friend of Abby's--but Stephanie and I have grown to be great friends through Abby. I love when that happens. She & Danny have been married 10 months and have an adorable puppy, Miley! They are a cute couple & Danny is a great guy. Obviously, he let us kick him out of his own house! haha. We stayed at Stephanie's until we were ready to crash & we went back home to make sure we had everything ready for the lake the next day.

Sunday: We picked up Michelle, Abby's little sister, & went to Church & then we headed out to the Lake to meet Daun, Ana, & Frank. Danny & Stephanie met us an hour or so later. When we got there we had some clouds, but figured it would just be a cloudy day. So...we headed out to the beach. We enjoyed some beach time & water frisbee & then decided to get on the boat. They let me be the first to ride the tube! Daun took me around the Lake 3 times (& no I never fell off, but I soon realized it wasn't the best thing to be doing for my stomach either--whoops---but it sure was fun). After about 3 times around we started seeing lightning off in the distance. They pulled me back in the boat and we headed for shore since lightning and water are not a great combination. By the time we got back to shore & had the boat tied up, the rains were blinding us and the thunder was crackling. We had to run back to the campsite. We sat in our cars for awhile...then we realized the weather wasn't going to clear up for the rest of the day. We were very sad it had ruined our 'lake' day. We waited for Abby's dad to arrive to help us load up the boat (which was very interesting in the cold & rain!) We had to wait about an hour before we could even attempt to load it because of the lightning & having to get back on the boat to drive it to the other side of the lake to load it. However, it was not all ruined...we had a blast in the rain & created some AWESOME memories!!! We were laughing the whole time.

Abby, me & Steph ready for some lake action

I LOVE anything in the water!

This was the view out the car window after we had to run to take shelter...you cannot see a thing!

Playing in the drizzles before the next downpour--waiting to load the boat.

After we got home we showered & relaxed for awhile. Matt brought over "Slumdog Millionaire" to watch. We watched it and I have to admit I have NO idea what the big fuss is about. I didn't find it to be all that intriguing and I hated the brutality of it. Nonetheless, I have seen it! After the movie we all went over to Abby's parents house for the 'indoor BBQ' that was supposed to take place at the Lake but couldn't. Mrs. Scheu did a wonderful job! We had a nice crowd; Mr. & Mrs. Scheu, Daun & Frank, Ana, Michelle, Abby, Me, & Matt. We had a good time & enjoyed some very interesting coversations & laughs at dinner & after! (SMILE)

After supper and hanging out for a bit, Abby & I went back to Daun's to watch "Stepmom." I was having a hard time sleeping since I have caught this nice summer bug and couldn't stop coughing, so Abby sat up with me late watching the movie. Now, what an awesome friend is she???

When I woke up Sunday I left about 8 so that I could get home. This summer bug has turned nasty and I don't feel the best, so I didn't want to liger in STL & expose them more than I had. I am sure it will be gone soon with some R&R and hot tea with honey--I hope! It doesn't even matter because this weekend was wonderful! We had many 'detours' this weekend, but it made it so much more entertaining and fun. Abby & I can make fun out of anything. I also think that is true of life...we are given many detours, it is up to us to make the most of them and turn them into adventures. At least, I'm trying to make myself do so, I was given quite another detour this weekend, but that is another story...for another time. I did not let it spoil my weekend with wonderful friends...it was too valueable to waste time with them worrying about something I could worry about when I got home!

I arrived home safely this afternoon back in Des Moines. I wish the bug I caught would have stayed in St. Louis & not with me...but nonetheless, I'm home! It was a nice drive. Sunny & I took backroads which I find beautiful, then again, I love farm land. I spent the rest of the day resting & using vicks & trying to get rid of this thing. I really need my head clear this week... I have some things to figure out thanks to the latest detour, so I would like it if it didn't hurt to think! haha.

I had a fabulous weekend with one of my best friends in the world. I feel so welcome with her family--which makes our trips all the more fun. They are a great group! I am very grateful for such awesome people to call friends!!!

This week should be interesting, I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow & a test on Wednesday--which they tell me will take 1/2 a day! Eek!!

I am very happy tonight...a great weekend and I made the trip alone...that's HUGE after the past year! See...I can do it! :) Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Love to you all!