Kim's Trip to the USA

I am so blessed to have had 2 opportunities to come back to the States with work! During the last weeks of May, a last minute opportunity came up for me to attend some meetings back in DC to discuss some upcoming IT developments in my office. I was excited to have the opportunity to engage in the meetings, but I was also excited about coming home for a few days! My boss let me take off a few days early so that I could have some time at home in Texas. And the timing couldn't have been better! Kelly was home and just beginning to dig into wedding planning, Kevin was home and had a baseball tournament, and two of my good friends, Amanda Farmer and Lindsey Terry were in town!

I flew into DC on Wednesday night, where my wonderful friends, Sarah and David, picked me up and took me to dinner. I am so upset that I forgot to take pictures that night, but I had a great time catching up with them and enjoying some delicious food at The Counter. If anyone in the Northern VA area is looking for a cool new restaurant, The Counter was awesome! That night Sarah graciously let me crash at her place - thank you guys for such a great night!

Early the next morning, I flew to Dallas! It was so nice to be home, to see my family, and to experience the sweltering heat. I really was craving that 100 degree weather since Frankfurt still had not had temperatures over 70 degrees!

When I walked into the kitchen, the table looked like this:


I was SO excited to see my favorite red velvet cake, that I failed to read the words on the cake! haha But then I looked closer, and it said "Matron of Honor?" and was surrounded by pictures of Kelly and me. My sister had thought of the PERFECT way to ask me to be her Matron of Honor! Those cakes date back 25 years in our family, and it was so sweet of her to get me one of my many favorite things about Arlington and to use it in such a special way! I just loved it.

So excited to be her MOH : )

My mom, Kelly, and I enjoyed an afternoon of shopping for bridesmaid dresses, and that evening we met up with Kelly's fiance, Dave, and his family for dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Joe T. Garcia's! I had never met Dave's parents, so I was thrilled that they could join us for dinner. Before this trip home came up, I really thought that I would have to wait until the wedding to meet them, so that evening was such a blessing.

Kelly, Dave, me, and Kevin at Joe T's

The parents

The next day, my Mom, Kelly, and I went for a long walk, got pedicures, and continued the wedding planning. We got to see the church and the reception location, and we discussed a lot of good ideas for decorating, dresses, and other fun wedding details! That night, my Aunt Debbie had us over for Happy Hour. Lindsay, Taylor, and Noah came over too, so it was great to catch up with everyone! I had a great time - going to Debbie and Bruce's house always brings back great memories.

Lindsay and Noah - he's getting so big!

On Saturday, we went to Kev's baseball game! I loved watching him play and soaking up the sun at the same time : ) Kevin is really doing well at club baseball, so I was really glad to get to go to one of his games. He did awesome!

After Chick-fil-a for lunch (mmm), Mom, Kelly, and I went over to our family friends, the Bruton's, house for their daughter's graduation party. Her sister and my dear, longtime friend, Amanda Farmer (Mandi), was in town from Australia for the festivities, so I loved catching up with her! She was so sweet to even give me a gift from Australia - yummy rum! And she gave me a camping tip for when we come to Australia : )

Moms and Daughters - Denise, Amanda, me and Mom

And the sisters - Amanda, Morgan, Kelly, and me

That evening, my friend Lindsey Terry came over, and we all went to dinner at Fuzzy's Taco Shop. Lindsey and I met in college, spent a year together as roommates, and we have been great friends ever since! I hadn't seen her in over a year, so I was ecstatic that she was in town!

Lindsey and me, enjoying the coldest beers in town!

Fuzzy's Family Foto : )

On Sunday, I had to say bye to the fam : ( We enjoyed a nice afternoon together, and then I had to go to the airport. I felt so lucky to have a few days with them though! And as you can tell, we squeezed a LOT into a few days! Great memories - thank you so much, family!

Back to DC I went on Sunday night! Monday was full of great, productive meetings, but on Monday evening I indulged in my most favorite steak restaurant in the world, Ray's the Steaks. I won't even try to describe their tasty fillet or the size of my smile after every bite.

On Tuesday, my last day, I had meetings till around noon, and then I had the rest of the day to kill. I decided to take a walk through some of my favorite places in DC - so I started in Clarendon and ended up at Federal Triangle in downtown DC (oh, about 6.5 miles)! After my walk, I met up with my friends Anne and Steve for dinner. I've really missed them - Brian and I spent a lot of time with Anne and Steve in Pakistan and in DC, so it was wonderful to catch up!


After dinner, I headed to the airport for my flight back to Frankfurt. I had only been gone for a week, but I was so thankful for everything I was able to do and everyone I was able to see in such a short time!