Thanks for the memories - #1

First "Thanks for the memories" entry! This is a series where I say thank you to all the people I'm thankful are/have been in my life, it'll go up to the Monday after Thanksgiving (when we do our family Thanksgiving) and hopefully once a week after that.

First up - LPUMC Youth group
I'm starting with them because A. I'm seeing them in a week, B. I went and saw New Moon with one of them last night :-).

This isn't everybody but it's a good recent picture (yes Alex IS in a pink sweater with a cow on it). 7 years ago my family went church shopping - my requirement was that they have a good youth group. I go visit Lafayette Park UMC with them and meet Sarah (2nd from left, next to Brian in the right) and Cassie (not pictured). 15 minutes after I meet them, they invite me to go whitewater rafting with the youth group. Kids I knew 15 years hadn't done that at my old church.

Since then we've become great friends. My friends in college would hang out with HS friends on break, I hung out with my youth group. I don't know what I would've done on those breaks in St. Louis without these guys! Everyone's all spread out now - Alyssa's in New Jersey, Sarah's in Iowa, Brian just moved back to St. Louis after getting out of the air force, Mackenzie's at Mizzou - but we still keep in touch and I consider them some of my closest friends. Everytime we're all back in town, we make sure we hang out and it's always a blast. We have so much fun and I'm so blessed to have them in my life.

There is one person that I've kinda lost touch with - Cassie. Last I heard she was living somewhere in St. Louis with this really weird girl who's super skinny and a big nerd and wants to work in museums and has a blog...
I'M JUST KIDDING!! Cassie and I live together and she's an AWESOME roommate!!!!!!!!!! She's always there when I need her, whether it's for a good laugh, to remind me not to fall into old traps, calm me down when I'm freaking about stuff, or someone to swoon with me over Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner ;-). I LOVE YOU ROOMIE, thanks for putting up with me, you are amazing!

So I just wanted to say thank you to everybody in my old church youth group who accepted a weird, skinny kid who came to visit with her parents and stuck by her for years. You guys are amazing. I love you. Can't wait to see you guys next week!! Thanks for the memories!!

Tune in tomorrow to see who else I'm thankful for!

BTW - seeing these pics again, I realize I should not wear that much dark eyeshadow... def does not work for me...