Old Friends make the BEST Friends

I went on a long weekend get away to Indiana to celebrate Neena's impending wedding. Instead of a stereotypical Bachelorette party we had a nice relaxing weekend at her Uncle's lake house off of Lake Michigan. My mom went with me so she could see her friend Suzy and go on their annual Brown Country shopping trip. We flew in late Wednesday and had a few hours of sleep before I dropped her off at dialysis on Thursday. She spent the day with her cousin that lives in Indy and then was shopping Friday on. My true relaxation began when I dropped her off Thursday morning.

On Thursday I went to see Karen and family. It was so good to catch up with her and see her kids that are growing up so fast. I'm glad I got to see Katelyn while she was still a baby. I'm hoping that my family can spend time there when we come up in August for Neena's wedding. Seeing Karen's clan made me really miss the boys and it was only day one. After I went to Karen's I shopped for Neena's gifts and shoes for her wedding before meeting up with Julie. This was the first time for me to meet Julie's boyfriend and to see their new house. We also worked on bachelorette gifts and caught up.

Friday I spent the morning and afternoon with Neena. I wanted to make sure I saw her alone for a little bit before we started her bash. It was so great to spend time with my 3 favorite friends one on one before the party began.

We had a great time at Lake Michigan and I know Neena did too. I loved seeing my great friends but missed my boys so much!

Steuer Visit

Karen, Matt & Kate


Strong legs at five months...watch out Karen & Matt!


Ready to hit the pool.


Jackson showing me his speedy slide.




Final Fling Before the Ring!

Julie finishing Neena's "Tying the Knot" tank.


Let the party begin! Neena in green car and Jill in convertible (yeah, me & Neena were in the wrong car!)


Neena with her bridesmaids: Eiko, Jill, Neena, me, Julie

Photos of all the girls





Neena with Karen (Brian's girlfriend)








Wedding day panties...


...after marriage grannies...


Our final night we went down to the beach to relax and talk. After a long day in the hot sun and sand, the cool sand and cool, night breeze was a perfect ending to the perfect weekend with friends. As we were chatting a group of teenage boys started flashing a flash light at us. As we kindly told them to quit, they stopped over. After impressing us with their ages of 19 & 20 which we are sure translated to 15 & 16, they quickly ran away when we told them we were in our 30s. After yelling "Bye cougars!" we heard some less flattering comments about how old we are. Once they left the beach we stole their camp fire complete with 7 chairs (we had 8 girls though). None of us had ever had a camp fire on the beach so we enjoyed chatting in our comfortable chairs around the warm fire.

Fire when we first sat down...


...after Julie & Kristin freshened it up...


...Neena enjoying the fire.