I suppose the title of this post is a bit misleading. There is no quick trip from Oregon to Kentucky. Between the flight time, the layovers, and the time difference, traveling across the country is a full day affair. But it’s so worth it.
I went home this weekend for my dear friend Kayla’s wedding. I’ve known Kayla since the first grade, when we met at church. As little kids, we would play McDonald’s in my basement (big dreams, right?) and pretend to serve the members of N’sync. Of course, there was also a Spice Girls phase, where we would watch Spice World in sports bras and boxer shorts (before we were old enough to have any need for a sports bra). There’s a hilarious photo of us sitting around the breakfast table eating pancakes and talking on those huge plastic play telephones, which I suppose were a representation of mobile phones at the time.
Once we left our boy band/Spice Girls phase, we moved onto exciting things like rolling down hotel hallways with Larry Mudd and watching Mary-Kate and Ashley movies (and let’s face it, we’re still in that phase). We spent our high school Christmas breaks helping out with our church’s production of The Living Christmas Tree, where we were train bearers for the third Wise Man. Our shining moment at each performance came at the end of the Hallelujah chorus, where we would fluff the king’s train like a giant parachute and bow before whoever was playing Jesus that year. We were top notch.
We spent the past 7 years or so having Harry Potter movie marathons and playing Nertz (against everyone else’s wills, of course). And whooping those boys in thrilling rounds of Outburst Junior.
We went to separate colleges, but spent a year taking a “photo of the day” for one another so that we would know what was happening in our lives. Kayla was a bridesmaid in my wedding two years ago, and I got to return the favor this weekend in her beautiful wedding at Walnut Street Baptist Church. Kayla played a pretty key role in getting Eric and I together six years ago, so for that I am forever grateful. And I was thrilled to see her marry Matt, who is very clearly the most perfect husband in the world for her. I really could not imagine a better pair.
In my very brief time at home this weekend, I also got to see two more dear friends, Carly and Madri, who have put up with my self-timer-from-the-top-of-the-car-photography since we all started driving however many years ago. I was so glad to enjoy breakfast with them on Friday morning and feel like I was really home again.
And I got to see my parents, along with my sister and her fiance (for the first time since they got engaged), which was pretty darn exciting. And the wedding guest list was full of people that I have known practically my entire life, so I enjoyed getting to catch up with old friends. The same goes for my host home for the weekend. Although the weekend was jam packed, I’m so thankful that I got to spend a tiny bit of time with Ben and Izabella, who always make me feel right at home.
I was hoping to get to enjoy a beautiful autumn weekend in Kentucky, but Louisville seemed to be going through an Oregon mood swing while I was there, so it was cold, cloudy, and drizzly during my whole visit. Of course, when my flight left on Sunday morning, it was sunny and beautiful. Had I been allowed to use my portable electronic device during takeoff, I would have photographed a stunning Kentucky morning, with bursts of autumn color, fog in the hills, and plenty of sunshine.
To sum up this post, I miss my old Kentucky home and all the great people who come with it. Hope you enjoyed the throwback photos!
-Ally
Dany says
I hope your birthday was super duper happy! So many loelvy images 🙂 Thanks for stopping by my blog awhile back; I appreciate that, and the fact that you left a comment, SO much. I’m trying to get back into blogging a little..would love to become blog buds!xoTracy