Lost in Translation

Ok, so...better late than never, I say. I meant to blog about this last week, but never got around to it. Here goes...ahem...

Although a bit of an understatement, I'm not really that shy...I do have my moments, but they are few and far between. And the reward of my outgoing nature is how many people I have met in my life, and how many I continue to call friends. I'm reminded constantly of how lucky I am by the friends that I have, regardless of the distance that separates us and the time between visits.

During the week of July 4th, one of my friends, Britta, was in town for a bit of R&R before the wedding she was in over that weekend. And since she was staying with our mutual friend Jenn, I got to spend much needed girl time with them and a few others.

Now, a lot of things are said and done over the course of time spent with friends that outsiders might look upon as corny, ridiculous, or just not worth mentioning because they "tend to lose something in the translation" or are definite "you had to be there" moments...but to those involved those same moments are simply known as good times, good times. Here are a few from that week:

• Note to self: You're supposed to add a mixer, i.e. 7-Up or Sprite, to the wine, champagne and fruit when making White Sangria. Apparently.

• Yes, that's right. That's Joshua and Britta rolling down the hill at Dell Diamond after the baseball game. I guess they were getting in touch with their inner 6-year-olds. God love 'em. Unfortunately the one I took of Britta hitting the concrete wall on the SIDE (not the bottom) of the hill didn't come out. STILL Hysterical!

• This duck at Lake Travis decided to hang out with us for a bit, let's call him Howard. Howard the Duck. Do ducks eat peanuts? Do ducks eat Cheetos? Sure, there are more important questions to be answered. But these are the ones we were asking.

• And who can forget this (paraphrased) exchange on the boat??

Jenn: Does that look okay?
Britta: I love you, Jenn, but that looks retarded.
Jenn: How retarded?
Michelle: Like, where's-your-helmet-retarded.

All I can say is... good friends + the lake + beer = good times.

That's Donna, me, Anne, Jenn, and Britta...and I don't think any of us were peeing in this picture...










...but I can't say the same for this one. Notice how Britta is using all the skills she learned as a cheerleader to form a backwards "P" with her fingers to prove it.






And how is it that we ended up with new nicknames that week? Jenn, now known as Le Tigre (rawr!) for her striped tan, Britta the Baconator due to her unprecedented appetite for bacon before hitting the lake (5 pieces?!??!), and I was called Ting Ting (because it was the group I wanted to listen to while we were on the lake) and Joshua was aptly called "Son of Ting Ting" and dubbed bartender for the day.

See, you might not think any of this was fun, but believe me...it definitely lost something in the translation, because we had a blast!