Ohio Bound

Luke and I survived the mountains of West Virginia when driving through early in the morning on the way to Ohio. Our friends, Paul and Nichole, were getting married in Columbus and we decided to make a trip of it while visiting some old friends. And by old friends, I mean the Seria clan in which I have been a member of their family since I was an awkward 5 year old.

The first time I met Amanda I did not have the best impression of her. Her hair was so curly it made you dizzy if you looked at it. And, I did not want to help out a "new girl" in Ms. Cole's kindergarten class like my mom made me. One day my mom forced me to go with her to their house to welcome them to the neighborhood, which happened to be a 3 minute walk away. I remember ringing the door bell and seeing a really young girl who appeared to be a teenager named Iris answer the door. I kindly asked, "where is your mom?" in which she replied "I am the mom." I was so confused because Iris was so young looking I mistook her for Amanda's older sister! Anyway, we headed in and I reluctantly went upstairs to play kitchen with Amanda and her little sister...and then I never left.

There are so many memories from the 10 years we lived in the same neighborhood together. It would be impossible to share them all, but here are a few highlights of our friendship blooming:

• Amanda lied on her eye exam so she could get glasses and sit in the front row of the class beside me. But she got caught.
• Amanda and I both hated green beans, but I ate them with her for moral support.
  
• One time we were bike riding and I fell down in a patch of thorns...Amanda tried to rescue me and it just did not go too well.
• We once filmed ourselves wearing bathing suites in the bathtub pretending to be drunk on grape juice and talking about wanting to be on the Rosie O'Donell show (I know that makes NO sense).
• We decided to run away together to the neighborhood gazebo by the lake. We had a plan that we would catch fish to eat and live happily ever after. I packed my barbie back pack full of fruit roll ups and other essentials for survival and called Amanda to let her know I was on my to her house to run away. Her mom over heard us talking about it...we got caught again.
• We frequently dressed like spice girls.
• We made up our friendship handshake, which is more like an awkward dance that we still know (well, most of it).

I always tell Amanda she is my one shot of having a famous friend. Her and her husband do some freelance writing, directing and producing of films up in Utah. One day I hope she will turn all our stories into a movie....

Anyway, we headed up to Ohio and spent the weekend with Amanda, Brittany (younger sister), Joel (Brittany's husband), their AWESOME grandparents, and Brody (their new pup). It was a fabulous weekend and now Luke has a better picture of my childhood.

On Friday we grabbed some lunch, made dinner, played games and of course spent time with the Brody...



On Saturday morning we headed to German Village and it was a blast. We saw beautiful homes and ate delicious food!

Me, Amanda and Brittany

Luke was chilly, so Amanda graciously let him borrow her mittens

Amanda's grandparents were with us Friday night and Saturday afternoon

After walking around we headed to Schmidt's to have some authentic German food. Luke was in Heaven!


After German Village, Luke and I headed back to get ready to see Paul and Nichole get married! They had a sweet wedding and the reception was fun with a great band and dancing. We had a blast!

Sunday morning we went on a quick walk, ate some lunch and then headed back home to Harrisonburg before Thanksgiving break! We had such a fun time with the Seria family and hope to see them again sooner than later. They are truly a special group of people and I am so glad Luke got the chance to meet them and fall in love with them as well.