Monday ~ Once Upon a Time I Met a Girl Named Emily

This is the story of how I met Emily. I've known Emily for quite a few months now, as we've been blog-buddies back and forth, with three big things in common - photography, Civil War reenacting and of course, the fact that we're both dedicated auntie's. But despite the lovely friendship we've established through our blogs, I never imagined I'd get to meet her. Cool stuff like that doesn't get to happen to me, right?

So, you can imagine my shock when I, just by pure accident, I discovered that she was visiting relatives within driving distance from me. I about went through the roof. And so long story short, yesterday after church found me putting gas in my car, turning up the country tunes loud and hitting the highways, armed with camera, to go and actually meet Emily.

And of course, when I really need my photos to be amazing, they turned out awful. I guess I was too excited and having too much fun with Emily (and her delightful friend Michaela) to focus adequately on my camera buttons. Oh well. But as my motto says, even a less-than-perfect photo is worth much when it captures a memory.

I tell you what, friends. Emily is a doll and she's just as cute as she looks on her bog, which you should definitely go check out here. Emily, Michaela (who was equally charming and delightfully fun to hang out with!) spent about two hours together, walking all over town taking photos here and there, talking, laughing and continuing to find out just how much we have in common. It wasn't until later that I did the math and realized that there's a ten year age difference between us! But honestly, I couldn't care even less. Age doesn't make a difference to me. :)

Oh, did I mention that we walked all over town? That was the most illusive Starbucks I've ever seen. And the three of us have never been so thankful for air-conditioning and a chair to sit in! And yes, they spelled my name wrong.

All too soon, it was time for Emily's uncle to come pick her up again and so it was time for goodbyes. But even though I don't know if I'll ever see Emily again, I now know the girl behind the blog and am that much more thankful for her friendship. :)

Sadly, the photo above is the only one I have of the three of us, in which we look like we got in the way of a photo of the theater and I'm sporting my too-big-I'm-laughing-with-my-teeth-closed smile that I un-affectionately call the "beaming bessy." Oh well. Refer to motto above.

And then, because I was still feeling low on liquids after all that walking in the hot sun, I grabbed a Jamba Juice on my way out of town to gird up my strength as I hit the roads again towards home.

Emily, I'm SO glad I got to meet you! Thanks for making it happen in your busy schedule!

P.S. And I still haven't forgotten about Part 2 of my Civil War Reenactment photos! They'll be coming soon!