vacation

after a 16 hour amtrak ride, i arrived to an oddly rainy and chilled chicago. my time there was so well spent; lunch with audie, coffee with eric, music in millennium with friends, and thai food. after our trip to mexico, i got to spend another two days in chicago, which were also great. i passed out souvenirs, went to six flags, and layed around the beach. although my vacation was really supposed to be mexico, im so glad that i got to spend time in chicago too, with more people that i love. 

wednesday at 3:15 am, allie and i had to rise and shine. after some struggles, we made it to a cab and settled in for our day of travel. surprisingly, we arrived in puerto vallarta without any trouble. we spent the afternoon holding ourselves back from any real fun, waiting for emma to show up.

our resort was perfect. a few restaurants, an adult only pool, and easy beach access. although we spent most of our time lounging by the pool, we also took advantage of activities. emma and i attempted to surf, which was so difficult that she almost drowned. we all three took a ride on the catamaran, which included jumping off for a swim and a near capsized boat. 

my favorite day was spent in puerto vallarta. we wandered to the main road and waited for the public bus to slow in front of us. after a brief ride through the mountains and a bus switch in front of wal-mart, we hopped out and explored the beach and cobblestone of the old town. eventually, we found a little street taco cart and sat down for quesadillas and cokes. despite the rerouted ride home, 40 minutes extra into mountain towns because of confusion over which bus, everyone held it together. 

of course, there was some partying and lots of new friends made. every afternoon we 

met new people as the sun settled in the western sky and laughed ourselves to dinner. we drank lots of 'mango vallartas', got our hair braided, made friends with workers in every department, and ate like queens.

 most often, the time the three of us spend together is surrounded with friends, family, and schedules. while all of the people and activities that keep us so busy are blessings,  it was so nice to just relax, catch up, and enjoy each other without many distractions and interruptions.  

i only have a few pictures before i dropped my camera and it stopped working....but allie took more. i'll try to post or send some when she uploads them. 

now i'm back in west virginia, adjusting again. i received a warm welcome home yesterday from brian and the boys, and stepped right back into the routine of the house. 

i'll try to post something about life here soon. 

miss and love. 

xxoxoox

july 10, already

time is going by so quickly. i cannot believe it has been almost a month since graduation or that it is already time for my trip back to chicago and to mexico. everyone told me that the time would fly and i would be headed back in just a few weeks, but i didn't believe it. 

of course, i've been busy making beds, sweeping floors, and chopping vegetables, but it doesn't feel like that. i've also spent a lot of time watching world cup or tour de france coverage, going on short runs through town, reading books on the porch, and talking with guests about their lives at home. i've seen two women surrender after staying a night with us and listened to brian talk them through this intimidating transition. i've been on an herb tour in the garden, helped trellis tomatoes, performed terrible parallel parking on a hill, baked a cake with four 10 year olds, and much, much more. 

anyway, everyday i'm learning how to do something new or how to do something better. it doesn't feel like work, which i guess, means that i like it...!! 

i'm excited to see chicago and everyone there. the trip to mexico seems like a dream. sitting in this simple life, i cannot imagine that in less than a week i will be sipping a piña colada on the beach. but i am very much looking forward to a relaxing and outrageous trip with my sistas. 

hope everyone else's summers are going well and that you all get to decide what you want to do today. 

xoxoxoxo