2015

First post for 2015!

I guess I should start by recapping the end of 2014 and the beginning of 2015- my trip home for the holidays!

It was actually a really great trip, full of family and friends, more than I ever imagined! I calculated that I spent around 17 hours in a car, to and from Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa. Wouldn't be a good trip home unless I went everywhere in the area I could!

Kansas was full of family - aunts, cousins, grandma, - and full of good food, games, and a good time. A new game we learned with our cousins was called Ticket to Ride. It was a good one! And of course played the card game uno with grandma :) As always, it was a great time there with family.

This year, I really didn't spend much time in Nebraska City, as compared to years before. So sadly, I missed seeing some of my friends there that it would have been great to see, so I'm sorry to all of those that I missed! I know that one reason I didn't spend as much time there was because grandpa wasn't there this year. For the past two years, I wanted to see him as much as possible while I was home, but this is the first Christmas he isn't there. And I do see my parents places other than our house. :)

But I did get to see many friends from Iowa!  Just another reminder of how blessed I am by all the friends I made in grad school. We all met in Des Moines over about 2 days, anyone who could come for part or all of it. I think over those 2 days I got to see 11 friends and an adorable baby. The great part about it was that while many are still in the area, the gatherings included me (from the west coast) and two friends who are now in the east, so it was really special that we could all be there together! Thank you all so much for making the trip to Des Moines come and see me! And even more than that, 1 more Iowa friend drove all the way to Nebraska to see me! It was such a blessing to see these friends this Christmas and New Years!

Also, I got to see many friends in Omaha, also a blessing! Another New Year's eve with Nick, Katie and Jon, my first cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee with Sara and the kiddos (nothing to write home about, haha - the coffee I mean), and a chance to see Danielle too. And playing so much Pandemic!

That's about all I can remember at this late date, although there are always more people and great experiences to include :). A blog post never quite can do justice how good it is to be home, surrounded by friends and family.