Recent adventures

I never wrote about Alex's wedding last month.

So Alex (who once drove a 1970-something truck and carries a pocket knife at all times) got married in September and I've never seen such a classy bride. Here's Alex practicing her posture:

She ate a chocolate protein bar in her wedding dress 20 minutes before the ceremony.

It seems odd to me that Alex and I are both married now. It wasn't that long ago that we practiced our monologues together for Spanish class. ... It was a very nice wedding, though, and Alex and Zach entertained us with air guitar to "Don't Stop Believin'."

A couple of weeks ago, I went to Denver for a Religion Newswriters conference. The only way I got to go was with a scholarship. I roomed with two girls, one from Jackson, Tenn., and one from Switzerland. I made so many contacts there and came back with a bunch of story ideas, so I'm making it my goal at work to write one religion story a week. So far, so good! I also explored Denver some with my roommates and another girl at the conference. I really like Denver. Very clean with a bunch of different kinds of people and lots to do. Marie-Laure (Swiss roommate) and I went to the botanic gardens and another lady and I walked around the Platt River the last day. I wish I had seen more of the mountains, but I did get a good reflection from the building across from the hotel.
Last weekend, I went ziplining with Mom, Margaret and Margaret's two girls at Navitat in Asheville. It was for Mom and Margaret's birthdays and sooooo fun. Mom thought she was going to have a heart attack on the highest line -- 20 stories up and almost 1,000 feet long -- but she didn't. I heard her say, "Hoo-wee!" halfway through. I also spent a little time at home. I did the bouncy thing with Emily in the mall food court (my shoes didn't fit in the cubby hole), and Seth and his friend, Matt, went hiking. Mom told them to watch out for bears and weird people. She also filled me in on the latest happenings at church: Lightning struck the organ and Mom and Dad were happy because whoever plays it plays too loud.

"I was glad. I know that's mean," she told me.

Now one of the ladies in church keeps praying that they can get another one or something, but Mom said she doesn't want to pray in favor of that one. Meanwhile, she's teaching Emily to pray for people and not just Webkins. (Oh, and she and Dad got some yellow mums for having the youngest child in their Sunday school class or something like that.)

The day after ziplining, I met Pete and two couples from church at Grandfather Mountain. It was cold. I thought it was really foggy, too, but I heard a guy say it wasn't fog, it was the clouds. Either way, I could barely see in front of me when I drove up.
I did decide that I want a pet black bear, though. I think this one's name is Mildred.

So this weekend, Pete has been in MN. You would think I have all this alone time, but I really haven't. Not that I'm complaining.

Thursday (the day he left), I met a girl from school, saw Ashley and her new baby, then Sara came over after work and we watched "Mamma Mia." Not a great plot, but it makes me want to be a dancing queen. Friday, I had a few friends over for a game night, and Saturday, I worked then had Bible study. Today, I went to church then the Latin festival with a friend and now Deb is over! I do look forward to having Pete back, though. :)