Thinking Out Loud Thursday - May 31, 2018

It's Thursday - WHAT!?!  That happened fast!  I still have the weekend on my mind, so that's what I'm thinking out loud about today.

Memorial Day weekend started early at our house because Eric and I were both off work on Friday.  We rose early and headed to Kansas City for my friend Linda's retirement party.  She's way too young to retire, but being a teacher and instructional coach in the same school district for 32 years allows her to move into this new phase of life.  I couldn't think of anyone more deserving!

Eric and I rolled into KC early in the afternoon and got set up for the party before Linda arrived.  So many of her school connections came to wish her well.  It warmed my heart hearing so many of her colleagues talk about how she had helped them with their careers.  Here are a few of the decorations I made for the event ~

Saturday morning we decided to head to the theater to see Book Club.  We thought it was very cute and had some great life lessons sprinkled throughout.  There haven't been many movies starring Diane Keaton that I don't like and this one is no exception.  Did you see it?

We were due to arrive at Linda's brother's house by mid afternoon.  Linda is the oldest of nine children so when the majority of the family get together, it's loud and FUN.  I'm blessed they have taken me and my family in and we're allowed to be a part of gatherings such as this one!

There was a surprise brewing.  Unbeknownst to Linda, when everyone left for church those of us that stayed behind quickly set up for another retirement party.  This one was just a family affair and she was blown away when she walked in the door!  The choreography of her arriving last worked out perfectly and we were all waiting on the stairs to greet her!

The cake and cookies were absolutely adorable (and delicious)!  The light box Kayla and Ian gave me for Mother's Day made it's inaugural debut.  I have a feeling I'm going to be using it A LOT because it's was so darn cute.

The rest of the night was spent toasting Linda, eating an amazing pasta dinner and playing games.  We also drew partners for the Annual Washer Tournament being held the following day.

Let me just say - everyone needs a Linda in their life.  We have been best friends since the sixth grade.  We were together for all the shenanigans of grade school, high school (still surprises me we survived that), and college.  There have been marriages, children and divorces.  Linda has been in my life for, well, every major event of my life.  And now I'm so excited to be there with her in her new phase called retirement.  We have big plans!!  Selfishly I'm hoping she will be able to visit more and we can take more trips together.  Congratulations Linda!!  We love you!!

We got down to serious washer business early Sunday morning.  The metal discs were flying by 10:00 am and even though the heat index climbed to over 100 degrees, we were not going to let that slow us down!

My partner even got an esteemed "leaner"!

It was a great day of fun and the winners were crowned by 6:00 pm.  Congrats to Patrick, Jordan and Margie!

Sunday night we were exhausted and were in bed by 11:00 pm.  We packed in so much merriment in just a few short days!

The alarm went off early on Monday because we needed to get back to St. Louis.  After stopping at my parents for a quick visit, I headed the rest of the way home and tried to get ready for the week.  I know it's a short one, but man did I feel like there was much to do!

Now it's your turn -- what are you thinking out loud about today?  Link up and share!

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Enjoy more Thoughts for Thursday at:

Home of Malones

East Coast Chic

Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop

This is How We Roll 

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