back from vacation

just got back from a whirlwind vacation to the east coast! what a great time! i met bff's family for the first time and they were amazing. everyone was so welcoming, straight forward, and full of life. normally i get pretty shy and quiet when it comes to crowds of people, but i was completely at ease.

the weather was phenomenal and the temperature hung around the 90's. i got a slight tan and managed to avoid getting sunburned. we hung around the pool about 98% of the time since it was so hot.

so every year around this time, a rib cook off takes place - and this is serious business. secret recipes and ingredients are guarded with fervor and cooking teams break out their creative side with props & t-shirts.


we didn't have a whole lot of time to prepare a theme and had an idea at the last possible second:


overall the trip was a complete success. things went better than i imagined - it was great to be accepted for who i am. i think the only drawback was that the trip was so short.

p.s. the puppy had fun at his best friends' house and got to play to his heart's content. i think he's bored being an only "child" now.