Congrats Nat and Jase!!!

Yesterday was my friend Natalie's bridal shower. Natalie and I became friends shortly after I started teaching at NCHS and became even better friends throughout our two years of graduate school. We would have never graduated had it not been for each other's company every Tuesday night...Panera dinners, gas station coffee, and an occasion cocktail here and there.

Well, yesterday we got to officially celebrate the fact that she is getting married on November 29 to Jason Billings. Jason is a wonderful guy and shares a very unique relationship with Brett. Jason thinks Brett is gay and sends him texts saying some version of the following, "Hi Brett...I saw a rainbow sticker today and it made me think of you." The shower was held at a friend of Natalie's family in Grayslake, IL and it was such a good time. Her friend and her mom went all out and the food and drinks were wonderful. Her friend's mom made the coolest Jeopardy game about her life that we all sat around and played. I think it was the best bridal shower game ever. Natalie got some very nice gifts that will go perfectly in her new house. If you have never met Natalie, she is probably the best person ever to watch open presents. To explain, you put garbage in a bag with a bow on it and Natalie would probably cry when she opened it and sincerely tell you it was the greatest present she has ever received. Everyone got such a kick out of her making the biggest deal about each gift.

Sam and I decided to ride together since it looked as though it would take over an hour to get there. It ultimately took almost an hour and a half and Sam and I got totally lost. At one point we were sitting on the floor of a 7-11 (well I was kneeling on the floor and Sam was sitting ON a map because she would not sit on the floor) trying to read various versions of street maps. We ended up finding our way and got lost on the way home again. As Sam said, "Lets not think of it as getting lost, we'll think of it as an adventure." Sam cracks me up. She also at one point said that she never thought she would be this far North in IL again, that perhaps she should buy a magnet from a gas station to remember all the small towns we drove through.

Brett and I would both like to wish Natalie and Jason a sincere congratulations...we can't wait for the wedding and we can't wait for them to become the new Mr. and Mrs. Leslie-Billings!