Everyone who knew both of us thought we should be friends. They knew we were both from the Northwest, her from Seattle, me from Oregon. They also knew we both loved football, her the Seahawks, me the Chargers. I’d seen Lindsey at church and she’d seen me, but we were never formally introduced. Until a little over a year ago. We finally met and became instant friends. It was true that we were both from the Northwest and maybe that’s why we got along so well because she reminded me of home. Over the past year, the Burketts have been a big part of my life …from our first country concert together (Lady A! ;-)), countless NFL Sundays, Thanksgiving, cookie exchanges, Bachelor Mondays, sushi, Oceanside trips and everything in between. They are like family to me. So you can imagine my sadness when I learned that I’d soon have to say good-bye to this sweet family as they began their preparations for a 3-year stay in Italy. I know for certain that I will visit them and I know for certain that no matter how many miles are between us, this friendship will last. The day we said good-bye was bittersweet and it was also the first time we had a photo session together! Aside from Maielle being a bit of a stinker that afternoon 🙂 and the thought of many good-byes lingering, we still managed a super fun, sunny afternoon with smiling pics to boot!

To Brandon, Lindsey, Sprout & Squeak…I love you all SO much and miss you like crazy! Your friendship has truly been a blessing to me. I can’t wait to hear more about all of your Italian adventures and hope to see you very soon!! Ciao!! XOXO!!

One of my faves…

Flying Chelly!

Awwww