THIS WAS MY SPRING BREAK

in a (rather large) nutshell:

• Celebrated sweet Lauren's 21st birthday in Dallas. Dinner and drinks at The Cheesecake Factory, followed by (drumroll please).... a trip to the HUGE Barnes and Noble next door. I know, we're party animals. We stayed the night and spent the next day shopping. My highlight of the shopping experience was hands down our trip to Half Price Books. Where I purchased this little conversation starter. Do yourself a favor, find a store near you and then just clear out a whole day to spend perusing up and down the aisles and aisles of books.
• From there Bingley and I braved the rain and headed home to Abilene. Bingley had a very happy homecoming being reunited with her mom, Missee, and brother, Bo, who as you can see is twice her size. I promise I feed her. Three times a day. Sheesh.
• My family got to spend an evening with our friends at their ranch house. We explored their acreage via four wheelers, though Brooke and I were convinced that ours was actually some sort of a tank as it was equipped with two guns and quite the seating arrangement. Afterwards we ate like kings and queens but my favorite part of the evening happened right before we left. Our friend turned all the lights off in his house and we stepped off the back porch, heads heavenward and were met with the most glorious display of stars I had ever seen. Beauty the likes of which just can't quite be captured. 
• I finally got to make some headway in reading Sheldon Vanauken's, A Severe Mercy. So rich! If you are as drawn to love and beauty and all they entail as I am then this book is a must. Quotes to come!
• Spent an afternoon with my dear friends Cali and Rebecca. This included a trip to Sharky's, exploring Cali's and her fiancé's future home (!), and my getting mistaken for Cali's mom at her doctor's appointment, which was possibly the most amusing thing that happened the entire break considering I was wearing an oversized sorority tshirt and leggings.
• Nights were spent at home with the fam watching movies, occasionally playing games, but mostly watching home videos. Painfully hilarious. 
• The week concluded with a quick but fun filled mother daughter shopping trip to Dallas. Put my mom, two sisters, and I in a car for any significant amount of time and you're bound to end up with some quotable material. 
• Ahem... SIC EM bears! That game tonight. Brady Heslip, you are something else. Sweet Sixteen, here we come!

This break, very much needed and very much unstructured, was quite refreshing. Being around my family and friends here, remembering how quality they are, makes me excited for this summer! But summer is not to be dwelled on right now because the semester only goes up from here. The Hunger Games premiere, GRO concert, the Bearathon, ∆∆∆ Formal, Easter, & road trip to Lawrence, Kansas--only a few of the adventures ahead.