miami heat

years ago (at the byu), i ended up in drawing class required for my major (bachelor of fine art in interior design). it was a core class, meaning that everyone in the school of fine art and communications had to take it in their first year after being accepted into their respective discipline within the major. these core classes were necessary in order to move on. (and believe me when i say it would require a white board and a half an hour to explain the logistics of these majors). a lot of the core classes lasted only a block (half a semester) instead of a full semester. this particular drawing class was the 2nd block of the fall semester and so i knew a few people in it. what i didn't know is that one of those people was to become one of my best friends for years to come.

that girl was ann. annabelle (as i call her) and i had a composition class for the first block and knew of each other, but it wasn't until this 2nd block class that we became good friends. the story of the how our friendship started is a good one. and worth it's own dedicated post. something about a hot guy, a movie invitation, and a misunderstanding...

in any case, ever since that class in the fall of 1998, ann and i have stayed close friends. there are not enough good words in the world to describe annabelle. but i'll try anyway...

she's beautiful inside and out. she's kind. to everyone. a quality that i have admired in her since the day we met. there have been many men who have sought her interest, and she has given nearly every one of them a chance. (another enviable quality). she is funny and quick to laugh not to mention very talented. (she is also an interior designer). we have so many great memories... mylar blanket and flaming gorge, jake's house, trip to vegas with the heater on, snagletooth and the huge piece of art work, st. george with 'those guys'. the list goes on and on. love that girl like my own sister...

a couple of years ago, ann got married and moved to florida. since it hadn't seen annabelle in a long time, i booked a flight for the first week of february to go spend a long weekend in the tropics with ann and her cute family. sidenote: i also needed so badly to get out of the snow....

it was a riot. daenen (her husband) is hilarious and dax (her son) is DARLING. it was fun to be able to see her as a mom and to have some great conversation.
saturday, we headed out to the beach and had pizza and key lime pie overlooking the waves. went to south beach that night and indulged in a 4 cheese gnocchi that blew my mind. for dessert? a peanut butter sundae from ghirardelli... i'm just going to say it: i'm obsessed with peanut butter.

sunday was low key. since dax was up most of the night, and it was stake conference, mom and baby took a much needed nap in the morning. in the afternoon, we took a drive to the everglades and had a photo shoot with the 'gators.



monday included a morning run and a patio lunch in the balmy 80 degree breeze.

couldn't have asked for a better weekend. to annabelle: miss your guts and love your trash. thanks for the great weekend, all the memories, and most especially for the friendship.