"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival." [C. S. Lewis]

This weekend I was blessed enough to spend 4 nights and 3 wonderful days with Hannah and her friends in Iowa. It was an incredibly fun road trip and an even better weekend. This was my theme song for the drive, so feel free to take a listen while you peruse the photos. 

 

 Wisconsin

 Minnesota 

(or, the southern part of Minnesota that looks like Iowa, according to Alex)

 Small Town Iowa

 Iowa in a nutshell

 Orange City!

HERE!

With Hannah before the Sock Hop! She's pretty much straight out of the pink ladies. I'm just a typical Sandra Dee. 

The group: Bri, Abbi, Alex, Joel, Katrina, Hannah, Katie, Rachel, Becca

Our last night together! I love these four so much. 

On the way home, too nice not to roll down the windows and blast the 

country music on the backroads. 

I jokingly told Joel, Hannah, Alex, and Katie that I was going to write a farewell speech, but I actually ended up doing it (I'm such a nerd) and presenting the horribly cheesy dialogue that night. Joel gave it 103%, I don't know if it deserves that, but it certainly sums up the weekend.

________________________________________________________________________ 

"This weekend was, my friends(and I can confidently call you my friends), a weekend I will always remember. I came to reconnect with Hannah, but I ended up connecting with three other wonderful people. We spent almost every minute together, had crazy adventures, and laughed until we couldn't breathe. 

When I look back on this weekend, your four faces will come distinctly to mind. I think this is because just about the only time I was alone was in the bathroom or when I had run away, like at the sock hop. Within 5 minutes of my arrival in Orange City, I was already sitting on the futon with Alex and Katie, and the rest of the weekend wasn't much different. I honestly wouldn't have it any other way. 

This weekend was also filled with crazy adventures. Whether we were killing ourselves doing Zumba, or making our calves even more sore at the sock hop playing dance tag, every minute was an adventure. Trying to follow Dick around Souix city, braving the sketchy flea market, or trying to comprehend the disturbingly random Smokin' Aces. Joel may not remember some of the these adventures because he was off in the "real world" programming his precious Dwarf Fortress.

This was also a weekend of many firsts. This weekend was my first time in a dutch-obsessed town. This was my first time miscounting to 75, 3 times. Thanks to Hannah, this was also my first time eating Moo Shu, which I am very grateful she forced me to do. This also marked Joel's first time losing Wits and Wagers, as I snuck up and stole first from behind. We all tried 5 Guys for the first time and learned of their overabundance of fries. And no one can forget their first Gordman's experience, or at least we won't forget Joel's first Gordman's experience because he would not let it go. Probably the most memorable first of the weekend was my first time playing Splosion Man. I don't think I will ever lose the title of "Debbie" and I don't think I ever deserve to. 

I will never forget the absolute joy of dropping our college lives and returning to our childish ways, playing duck-duck-goose, zoo, and freeze tag. I will never forget Joel and Hannah BOTH picking Ke$ha in "this" game, and BOTH picking "When was the last time you picked your nose today?" for my truth in truth or dare. I will never stop expressing my hunger in taquitos, even if no one but us understands it. 

I won't forget Katie, our walking dictionary, lover of architecture, and best female splosion man player. I won't forget Alex, who single-handedly killed 4 people at movie scene-it, absolutely rocked the 50's look, and bonded with me over the fact that our legs hurt so badly we could barely sit on a toilet anymore. And although I have spent a good amount of this speech mocking Joel, I really do have a great deal of respect and admiration for him, and I feel so blessed that God put him in Hannah's life. (So if you ever screw it up, I'm coming after you.) And Hanners, my soul sister, I'm so glad I got to spend this weekend with you, our late-night chats in bed, bonding in the bathroom, and a few hours spent over caramel macchiatos and scones. 

I seriously loved every minute of being here. I felt welcome, loved, and at peace. I am sad to leave, but it just makes me that much more excited about coming back next year, and playing what will hopefully be, Ms. Splosion Man 2"

________________________________________________________________________

Thank you to all of those who made this weekend amazing. I love you and miss you all! With that, some Fun.