My Homegirl!!!

Oh, where to begin....My dear friend Colleen is so wonderful. My history with Colleen is a funny story...Colleen and Ben were members of the University 2nd Student Ward in Salt Lake City at the same time that Shane and I were. We didn't know each other, she was just a familiar face to me. But when Ben graduated from college we were the lucky ones to be assigned to their old student apartment on campus. It was a score really....the living room was the largest model they had available (this all in it's self made it very valuable-there was a waiting list specifically for the coveted large living rooms), it was the only unit on the floor with a bathtub, the bathroom was larger than all the others on the floor due to it being handicap accessible, and the storage room was HUGE. A major plus when you're students and have no where to store all your crap. Shane and I were interested in seeing the apartment prior to moving in, so a friend of ours (L. Fagerlund) got us in touch with one another to set a time. I remember that we were very excited after touring our future home, it was perfect! As we were leaving Colleen asked us if we wanted a large bag of pretzels that she didn't want to pack and if we would take her trash to the dumpster. We took both the trash and the pretzels. :)

I'm sure that Colleen has no recollection of this story since she had no clue who I was when I approached her at church just after they had moved here. I reminded her of our beloved Bishop Jones and the friends/acquaintances that we had in common. By the look on her face I'm pretty sure she still had no idea who we were. Either way, I am grateful for her and to the Lord for leading her and her family to Kentucky. It was so wonderful to see a familiar face so far from the place that I had called home. Being able to talk about people I knew and not having to fill in all the details. Transitioning to KY was very difficult for me and Colleen just being here made it easier to bear the loneliness that I felt. I have found peace within myself many times after talking to her. We joke that she and I are "hommies". Although we don't get a chance to spend much time together, I still find that peace when we talk. Her contagious smile can always bring a smile to my face and I love that about her!

Today Alexi and I had the opportunity to spend some time with her and sweet Gretchen.

So we loaded ourselves into the car.....

Grabbed some grub at Micky D's....

We were sure not to forget "ol' faithful" (Colleen's Dr. Pepper)

We cruised the blogging world...And the girls got acquainted....

It was nice to have a little break today and do something "grown up". I can't think of anyone better to have done it with. Thanks Colleen for being you!

(Okay some clarification...Colleen only asked us to take her trash because being the resourceful person that she is, she thought that she would take full advantage of the situation. She did in fact live on the THIRD floor and Megan and Ethan were still babes. I never enjoyed taking out the trash and we didn't have kids for the first few years that we lived there. Not to mention that the doors would lock on you and you had to walk to the front of the building to get back in. It was such a PAIN!)