Cindy's Surprise 40th. . .

So many amazingly fun things happened this past summer, but celebrating my friend Cindy's 40th was definitely one of the greater highlights! Early in the summer, an old acquaintance from my Ottumwa days called me and asked if I'd be interested in celebrating Cindy's big day with a surprise weekend getaway. Of course I was definitely in! I hadn't seen Cindy for close to four years and it was time! The secret plan was to meet in Mitchell, South Dakota for a few days with girlfriends. Along with Brenda, whom I had known from Ottumwa, two of Cindy's friends from her current town, along with her sister were going to be there. Six of us total. It was a 7-hour drive to Mitchell and I loved every minute of it. I had music, silence, hours of catching up with friends and family on the phone, and just more silence. It just happened to be a great weekend to get away and the girls were excited for some time alone with Kevin!

Cindy had no idea what was going on! In fact, the day before we were to meet, she sent me an email saying she had just read a note from her husband and she was to have a bag packed for the weekend! I arrived at our hotel early and met with Brenda. We caught up on life and got to know each other. Although Brenda had been in Ottumwa and her husband was also a Deere employee, we didn't really get to know each other then because we were just in different phases of life. About half an hour later, Cindy arrived in a car with the others. I can still picture her face as Brenda and I came around the corner and walked into the lobby. Pure shock! She hadn't seen Brenda for 7+ years and me for almost 4!! She was so happy and in tears and just almost speechless. It was an awesome moment!!

We spent the evening hanging out in the hotel room and I loved getting to know Cindy's friends and sister. You never know how the dynamics of a small group are going to work out, especially with so many new personalities, but it was just great! I had such a good time the entire weekend! The next morning, we took Cindy to get a pedicure and enjoyed almost two hours of pampering. We laughed a ton! I loved that they had three chairs together. . . we went in two shifts but were all in the same room the entire time.

Elecia, Brenda, Cindy, Amy, Kaycee and me

Brenda bought everyone matching flip flops for the day.

Mitchell, South Dakota is home to the World's Only Corn Palace! There's a reason for that. Actually, it was pretty impressive. I'm glad I've been there now and can say I've seen it. Inside the palace, there's actually an arena and state championship basketball games are played there. Quite a cool venue!

There are some corny things to do in the palace:) Ha.

After visiting the Corn Palace, we ate lunch at the Depot Pub and Grill and then walked around the stores downtown. It was a leisurely afternoon and we had no set plans other than enjoying Cindy! Late in the afternoon, we found a Caribou coffee and sat around for several hours just chatting. Before we knew it, it was past dinner time. We opted to eat in the hotel again and stayed up late laughing and telling story after story of our lives.

Sunday flew by and before I knew it, the time had come for me to leave. The others were staying until Monday morning, but I needed to leave late that afternoon. We did some shopping and drank some coffee and then headed north of town to visit the lake. It happened to be a great place for some pictures, so we snapped a few before I headed out. These are some of my favorites:

One of the great joys of the weekend was watching my friend interact with her sister. Sisters have such a different bond. It's the kind of bond where you get each other and you can call each other dork! So many of Amy's mannerisms reminded me of Cindy and I found myself just staring at them. All my life, people have told me I look so much like my sisters. Only recently have I realized that yes, we all do look so much alike! These two love each other. I am so thankful that I was able to spend some time getting to know the sister of someone I love so much!

My life has been so impacted by Cindy! We were able to spend about six years together in Ottumwa and those years will forever be etched on my heart. Cindy was my doula and in the delivery room when Emma was born. I took care of her kids on countless occasions and loved every single moment I had with them. Her husband is a great man and one of the most amazing pastors I've ever known. They are forever friends and I will be forever grateful for them! I drove home that weekend with a smile on my face the entire time. I had needed that weekend. My heart was so full when I left. I literally felt like I couldn't have held any more inside me. It would take pages for me to try to explain why, but suffice it to say I was just surrounded by some amazing women. Although the weekend was originally planned to celebrate Cindy's 40th birthday, we all agreed that we were the ones who felt blessed!