H-2 Girls (and Cara!) Reunite

This fall one of my dreams came true. 

But first, back let's back up to the summertime, when Michelle calls me and declares, "I must come see you. I'm going to do it for sure. I don't care who comes, but I will be there."  I knew Michelle meant those words and I was so excited.  Anticipating visits from anyone in Iowa is so special and exciting, but Michelle Buttars? I was beside myself.

About a week later she calls with even more unbelievable news.  All of the H-2 girls (except our dear Laura who is deep in her Residency program)  and Cara - who might as well have been a roomy,  immediately jumped on the idea of a girls trip and they all purchased their tickets.  It was a sealed deal.

I shared the fantastic news with everyone I came in contact. Friends, strangers at the grocery store, customer service reps on the phone- everyone.

Literally the next week, Tyler received the phone call that led to our surprise move to Texas.  When Tyler told me about the job, my first concern was , "what about all the girls flying here to visit? you can't take that job!"

Well, we figured things out and after a whirlwind move in August, I flew back to Iowa to meet my ladies.

Rather than stay at my house as originally planned, we moved half our trip to Nauvoo, and the other half to Julie's aunt and uncle in a quaint town, Mt. Vernon, just outside of Cedar Rapids. It turned out absolutely perfect.  I'll never forget how I felt at the airport waiting to see the first batch of girls arrive.

                                         

It had been 14 years since we were all together, and it didn't take long to realize that we are still the same. We all seemed to just fall into the "roles" that we had when we shared a home.




 One of our first experiences in Nauvoo was attending the temple.  Do you see my barbie hand in this pic?  For some reason, my eyes were so sensitive to the sun that I could not even glance up for a picture- my hand was on it's way up to protect my precious blues.  Here's a few of the attempts. I ruined every pic we tried to take together.

Finally we moved to a more bearable spot, and apparantley Julie was tired of all the attention I was getting because of my poor eyes. Haha ;)

To make up for the moving shenanigans, Tyler put us up in an awesome log cabin in Nauvoo where we would all fit comfortably and be able to cook together and chat. And chat we did. Oh, did we ever.

After Nauvoo we headed to Dale and Lee Anne's Home (Julie's aunt and uncle). Words can't describe the coolness them and their place. They are antique dealers/collectors who converted an old gas station into a home and have a huge museum-type room where they display their antique finds. Dale specializes in collecting medical instruments and gismos, which made for a lot of fun pictures and conversations. The museum was also where we slept- hands down the most unique place I have ever stayed.

We all agreed that it was so refreshing to focus on just being individuals and not worrying about the responsibilites and roles of daily life. We played, relaxed, talked and laughed to our hearts content.

Some of us sang...........

............and some of us were torchered.  Haha, no, LeeAnn is a gifted woman who is not only a massage therapist, but is very in tune with the human body.  She worked so much on me, and even though it was painful, it was so helpful. And now I hold the record as the most tight, messed up body (even my forearms!) that she has ever seen.

 Have I mentioned we haven't changed much? Well, besides me. I'm a lot more mature now.

This trip is truly one of the most fun, memorable events in my life. I love these women so much. Each inspire me to be a better person and have amazing qualities that I admire.

Cara suggested we all share our top 10 memories of our trip. Here was mine:

1. Arriving in Des Moines early on Thursday and feeling the anticipation of seeing everyone. I was shaking and crying.

2. Me, Cara, and Michelle tearing out of the hotel laughing our heads off ;)

3. Seeing everyone together and realizing we're all still the same. That was so comforting to me. Michelle, I'm so glad you didn't join the Amish, I wouldn't have been able to say this.

4. Roadtripping along beautiful farmland and talking non-stop.

5. Sitting in the temple and realizing that between all of us, there were 17 children at home with their fathers. I felt so thankful for all of your husbands (and mine!) for supporting you to come on the trip.

6. Standing in John Taylor's home and hearing the touching story of him and his son.

7. Meeting Dale and Leanne(sp?). I loved hearing all about David Copperfield.

8. Hearing Julie share her testimony, and seeing Leanne cry because she would miss us. Isn't she an angel??

9. Hearing Rochelle's soothing voice as she described the firefly gift the Lord sent her in a time of need.

10. Feeling overwhelming gratitude to see that women I love as sisters have stayed strong in the gospel and have been blessed with wonderful families.