i arrived back in bloomington 29 may, after several flights...fiji to lax, lax to denver, and denver to ind...i almost always feel uncomfortable when i first land in airports in the US after being gone for a while, and this time was no different..the US has so many LARGE people!!
the next night i got together with don, krista and her husband at nicks...it was the first time i've met krista's husband, rob...he's a nice guy...we ended up staying out for quite a while, it was a good night..since i hadn't seen don or krista in ages, and we've all known each other for over a decade, there was a lot of catching up to do..
the next morning, i met the three of them for breakfast at the cloverleaf, one of my favourite places in bloomington..it's a family diner, and has been around for ages..it's no longer open sunday mornings, which is sad, cause i loved sunday meals there..krista left to get to the church as soon as we were done eating, she was one of the co matrons of honor, and had to get ready for pictures and the ceremony..rob took her over there, then he and don hung out and waited..rob was wearing his dress uniform, don was wearing a suit..(they're both army)
ree's wedding was 31 may...she and chad had been planning for a while, over a year in fact..it was a big wedding, with several hundred guests and many attendants on each side...there were even two pastors officiating..(a joke was made about that during the ceremony)..it was her dream day...the reception was at the convention center...since don expected to drink at the reception, he let me drive him over there in his car..(amazing, it wasn't easy to convince him to let me drive..he loves his car..lol)..i spent my time at the reception talking to don and rob..a good thing don was there, otherwise i would've left a lot earlier...other than don, and rob (sortof) i only knew family members, and they were all in the wedding party, so i had no one else to talk to..don and i were at a table with extended bales family members, they all knew each other of course..
ree and i have definitely gone our separate ways...
while i was in IN, i also visited kokomo for a night, to hang out with kelley...she's happy with her man, not happy with her job...i hadn't seen her since uni, we had tons to talk about..when she told her mom i was coming to visit, her mom went out and got a box of handmade chocolates for me!! rhonda is one of the coolest mom's i know..she remembered how much i love sweets..i was thrilled to hear kelley talk about jon, it's clear they're really happy together..i'm sooooo happy for her, cause she deserves someone as amazing as she is...she's looking forward to jon being done with school, so they can move to a place they both enjoy..kokomo isn't a place she wants to live any longer, and lafayette isn't any better..
i visited charlie and amber for a weekend in mentor, OH...it was sooooooooooo good to see my charlie again...and to finally meet his girls!! madison is almost 3, natalie is 1...so cute...i've known charlie for at least 15 years, and even though we don't keep in touch often, he's always going to be "my charlie"..you know that friend you have that you trust and would go to the end of the earth for? that's charlie for me..it was great to get to know amber, charlie's wife..he brought her to work camp one year, but that was the year after i moved to germany, so i never met her..he loves her madly, and he's another person in my life who deserves nothing but the best..i helped her make the cakes for natalie's birthday party...they only invited family members, so i didn't know many people, and there were quite a few kids there...needless to say, it was entertaining to watch natalie (usually called natty girl) attempt to eat her cake..she's only one, she doesn't really have that coordination..on saturday we drove to herb and linda's (charlie's parents, who i also know) church to go to chrissy's graduation party, in the same church where charlie got married...yay for seeing chrissy all grown up, and linda and herb...chrissy is 10 years younger than charlie, but they've always been really close..it was always surprising how close they were, given the age difference..going to the graduation party was like a pyoca mini-reunion..it was sad to leave them at the end of the weekend...when i left, i wasn't sure i would make it back to bloomington, as there had been MAJOR flooding all through southern indiana, and throughout the midwest..IN 37 was washed out in a few places, something i didn't even know could happen..as it was, i did make it back, but i saw a LOT of standing water along the way..since our house is on a hill, it's not likely ever to have problems with flooding, but there were plenty of people in bloomington who did have problems..i remember reading that areas in the 500 yr flood plain had been flooded, and they weren't doing well..several areas were declared federal disaster zones, and some towns like spencer weren't even reachable by road for almost a week..
i visited chris in ft walton beach, florida..i met chris in korea, and had kept in touch with him..i knew others in ft walton beach, but didn't get to see any of them because one was dating a girl who didn't want him to keep in touch in any way with any female friends (and that's all he and i ever were) from his past..it was a definite disappointment, as he didn't even tell me he was cutting me completely out of his life..it was nice to be back in fwb though, and great to spend a few hours on the beach..it's a beautiful white beach, with emerald water..chris is a good guy, and it was great to catch up with him..he plays softball, so a couple nights i went with him to his games..he's tall, so he's perfect for outfield..
