Garrett and I met up with Jake and Lacee this past Saturday evening drained from packing and grading but ready to have a relaxing dinner with friends. They drove us to a local steak/Italian place (Fred's Hickory Inn), a place we've never been. The reservation was for 7pm, so for those who know me and Garrett, this is a late dinner. We're more of the 3 to 4pm dinner eaters. We like to roll with the senior crowd. So needless to say, I was hungry. We walked in and were immediately ushered to the back of the restaurant. "No wait, great!" I thought; that was the hunger talking. As we approached our table I was making some comment about the decor of the restaurant when I hear "SURPRISE!" coming from somewhere. I had not reached the room our table was in yet, so I thought, "Aww, someone is having a surprise birthday party. How fun." Then, I got to our room and was SHOCKED to see my church friends, sister, and mom waiting for me with big smiles. It was then I quickly deduced that they were yelling surprise to me and Garrett! My emotions got the best of me, and I started crying. What a sweet gift, the best one I could've imagined.
My sister and Lacee had been planning this shindig for months apparently. I have been so preoccupied with school and leaving that I had no idea this party was coming, and they all made a conscious effort to keep the event off of Garrett's radar (he's not the best surprise keeper). The room was filled with pictures Brittney had taken on her trip to Italy (Garrett's and my favorite place, other than Colorado), and a slide show of pictures was going on in the background. Brittney informed me that we got to keep all of the framed Italy pictures. They are beautiful. I'll try to post some of them so that you can enjoy them too! They had also ordered a cake from our favorite local bakery, Rick's Bakery in Fayetteville. Everything was wonderful: wonderful friends, wonderful decorations, wonderful food.
To end the evening, Brittney and Jake hosted an award show that they had created: The Clawsome Awards. (For those that don't know, "clawsome" is a fantastic new word that combines cool and awesome. Use it, and be amazed at the joy it brings to your life.) The awards were hilarious, adapted to each person's personality, situation, or character. For example: one friend, Greg, had just that morning returned from a mission trip to Indonesia, so he was super tired. Greg received the award for "the person mostly likely to not remember this evening and have malaria." So, awards like that. The show was super funny; Jake, Lacee, and Brittney were so creative. It felt so good to laugh.
The party was the perfect way to say goodbye to Arkansas. I feel so loved. God has blessed me with some good friends. I will miss my church family and friends.
My sister and Lacee had been planning this shindig for months apparently. I have been so preoccupied with school and leaving that I had no idea this party was coming, and they all made a conscious effort to keep the event off of Garrett's radar (he's not the best surprise keeper). The room was filled with pictures Brittney had taken on her trip to Italy (Garrett's and my favorite place, other than Colorado), and a slide show of pictures was going on in the background. Brittney informed me that we got to keep all of the framed Italy pictures. They are beautiful. I'll try to post some of them so that you can enjoy them too! They had also ordered a cake from our favorite local bakery, Rick's Bakery in Fayetteville. Everything was wonderful: wonderful friends, wonderful decorations, wonderful food.
To end the evening, Brittney and Jake hosted an award show that they had created: The Clawsome Awards. (For those that don't know, "clawsome" is a fantastic new word that combines cool and awesome. Use it, and be amazed at the joy it brings to your life.) The awards were hilarious, adapted to each person's personality, situation, or character. For example: one friend, Greg, had just that morning returned from a mission trip to Indonesia, so he was super tired. Greg received the award for "the person mostly likely to not remember this evening and have malaria." So, awards like that. The show was super funny; Jake, Lacee, and Brittney were so creative. It felt so good to laugh.
The party was the perfect way to say goodbye to Arkansas. I feel so loved. God has blessed me with some good friends. I will miss my church family and friends.
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| This is my high-five trophy I won at the party along with one of the framed Italy pictures. Jealous?! |
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