Well, I’m home.

It was hard saying goodbye today but easier knowing we will be a few hours closer which makes road trips a little easier. Already planning one for June.

I have a headache and want to spend some time with my husband, who I’ve missed all week and who starts a brand new job tomorrow. I am a proud wife.

Goodnight world. Thanks for a great thirty one days, Slice of Life. 🙂

I’m trying to pretend tomorrow is not my last day here! We woke up this morning and went to get our nails done, which was wonderful. We went to get breakfast afterwards and then home to get ready for the day. The day was pretty foggy but we ventured to the beach anyways! It was cold but so worth it. After we enjoyed some snacks on the beach we went on a drive to a place called the Holy Donut for…you guess it, donuts! Yum.

Here are some pictures of our trip thus far!

Jenna took off work today – praise! We woke up abruptly though because Jenna’s sub misplaced the sub plans so we needed to make sure she had those for the day. When all was settled, Jenna preheated the oven for some cinnamon rolls. We made fruit smoothies too (so we could feel sort of healthy.)

After breakfast and a very slow morning of breakfast and talking for hours, we packed up some of Jenna and Mason’s place (they’re moving in a couple weeks). We finished loading some boxes up with stuff and then got ready for the day. We headed to Portland to do some window shopping which then turned into actual shopping — oops!

When we had finished shopping, we realized we had totally forgotten about lunch so we wanted food. We went to a spot in Portland we’d been before a couple of summers ago – Flatbread Pizza Company. So so yummy.

When dinner finished, we continued walking around Portland so grateful that the weather wasn’t bad…just cloudy. Thankfully we took advantage of the sunny weather yesterday so I got to see Bug Light Park’s lighthouse. Very sweet. Our day in Portland ended with a Chris Tomlin, Tauren Wells, and Pat Barrett concert! Amazing to worship with my best friend and hundreds of other believers.

Tomorrow is Saturday – sleep in, get nails done, movie day – because the forecast says rain. Oh, Spring Break, never end.

Like yesterday, I woke up this morning to an empty apartment with coffee waiting for me. I brewed a cup and sat on the couch to read my Bible with gorgeous sunlight pouring into the living room.

Jenna made it home for her lunch break so we ate a meal together and are about to head to her school! I’ll read a book to her little first graders and meet some of her teacher friends before heading home for an evening of movies, popcorn, and painting our nails.

We’ll make dinner in the apartment and do what best friends do – pretending this is normal and not a week to squeeze in all the memories possible.

This morning I woke up to an empty apartment because Jenna still had to work. I enjoyed a cup of coffee with a beautiful view of Maine outside the window. It was so sunny, though a little chilly. Beautiful tall trees and a stream beneath them.

I started dinner before Jenna got home because we made plans to head to Freeport before a class I had to take online at night. We ate meatloaf, mac ‘n cheese, and broccoli. Then we headed to Freeport! We went to the LL Bean outlet, Old Navy (our fave), and then the huge LL Bean store where I tried on hiking boots and daypacks for my upcoming summer trip to Utah this summer.

When we got home, I had to take my online class which was two hours long but was a good time for Jenna to type up her sub plans for Friday when she’s taking off!

Another beautiful day in Maine (and I’m just getting to post about it now)!

Today’s the day!!!!! I left Chicago this afternoon at 2:45 and landed in Portland around 6:10. Jenna picked me up, we hugged for a very long time, immediately took a picture together, and hugged again. We went out for dinner and then came back to her apartment!

After getting our comfy clothes on, we made some tea and are currently sitting on the couch watching Hairspray! (Thanks, Netflix)

It’s so good to be here. It’s so good to be with a friend who’s more like a sister. Stay tuned for more Maine memories!

Tonight my husband and I hosted a dinner for our landlords. They are a couple from the church we used to attend and they’re super kind and sweet. She is gluten free so the menu tonight was spaghetti squash with a ground turkey tomato basil sauce with some broccoli and gluten free cookies and ice cream for dessert!

It was such a sweet night in community. They brought their dog and we had our pup so they played and played for hours. As I type this, Camper is snuggled between my legs under the covers. My husband is strumming his guitar and I’m resting after a night of both hosting AND packing!

Tomorrow I leave for Maine. My best friend lives there and I cannot wait to see her. The rest of my posts will likely be about her and our adventures together. Honestly we’ve already done the super touristy things together so it’s likely our days will consist of gossip, food, and Netflix…but I’m not complaining.

My next post will be from Maine! (or the airport…)

Ever since I can remember, my extended family has been close and very intentional with spending time together. My dad is one of eleven and my mom is one of six. So, needless to say, my extended family is pretty big. And it rocks.

The Walsh side, my dad’s side, has a family reunion every other year. Most of us live in Illinois but we do have some family in Connecticut, Florida, and now Missouri! It is so special and honestly probably pretty rare that a group of individual families get together with their huge extended family for weeks on end every other summer. The O’Donnell side, my mom’s side, doesn’t get together in person as frequently but we have a Facebook messenger chat that my uncles use almost daily (going to be super annoying now that March Madness has started!)

I am so blessed with a family that not only loves spending time together, but makes the time for it as often as possible. Today we celebrated one of my cousin’s birthdays and I thought to myself how special it is to have family there for all of life’s ups and downs. I am truly blessed!

I woke up this morning and like usual, took the dog out. My thoughts immediately took over. Oh my goodness. Sunny. It’s sunny.

I showered, made coffee, threw a load of laundry in and told Camper we were going for a walk. A long one. We walked and walked and greeted neighbors who were also outside enjoying the sunshine. There’s something about a bright sky that completely changes my mood. I instantly was more grateful and happy. A perfect start to Saturday.

When we got home, I opened every window in our home. Sunlight started to pour into our home. Camper and I both were in heaven. The fresh air and magnificent light made our day of chores so sweet.

My Mom is on her way to pick me up and we will venture to Wisconsin to have a little family get together. I can’t wait to drive with the windows down the whole way. I love Spring.

“CAMPER!” I screamed as I noticed the remote control, which could no longer be classified as a working remote control. I went to work yesterday morning expecting it to be a hard day on my puppy because it’d be her first time alone for more than a couple of hours. Well, I was right and unfortunately I have responsibility to take for her misbehavior. See, we knew the remote was a “toy” in Camper’s eyes so we usually put it up high on the counter. Yesterday was a different story. “I’m sorry…that’s my fault. I can’t believe you chewed it this much! Did you eat the plastic? Does your tummy hurt?” I ask her these questions like she’s going to answer me. Instead, she tilts her head, eyes wide, and runs up to me happy to have her Mama home. “Let’s go to the pet store. You need some bones to chew instead of my remote.” Again, no answer, but I assume she was excited because the tail started wagging as soon as I put her leash on and led her to the car.

I pull in the parking lot of Petco, only about five minutes from our house, and put the car in park. Camper sits on me as I drive and because she’s little I’m okay with it. I toss my phone and wallet inside my purse and remove the keys from the ignition. I open the car door, firmly press the lock button, and toss my keys in my purse which sits on my passenger seat. It’s too hard to carry keys while I’m working with a hyper puppy who has noticed we’re at Petco and can no longer keep her cool.

I latch the leash on her and she jumps off my lap and into the parking lot. Struggling to chase after her, I unbuckle my seat belt and hop out of the car after her. I slam the door and immediately stop dead in my tracks. “Oh my gosh. My purse is still on my passenger seat. My keys are in that purse.” PANIC PANIC PANIC.

Thoughts begin forming almost instantaneously as I realize this horrible incident is in fact real. “My husband is in Ohio. My parents live an hour away. They have the spare key to my car…I can just call my Mo-“ PANIC PANIC PANIC. “MY PHONE IS IN THERE TOO! AND MY WALLET! I AM STRANDED AT PETCO WITH NO KEYS, NO WALLET, AND NO PHONE!”

Calm down, Erin. This happens, right? Deep breaths.

I walk into the Petco and start filing up and down the isles trying to talk myself into asking someone to use their phone. Once the cash registers are empty, I walk up and admit to my mistake. A worker hands me the Petco phone and I call my parent’s house. No answer. I call my Mom’s cell phone. No answer. I want to call my dad, but I don’t have his number memorized because his number just changed. Thankfully, and I promise you this is a miracle, I had memorized my husband’s cell number. I call him and explain the situation. He laughs, apologizes quickly for doing that, and tells me it’s going to be okay. “Babe, you just get more time with Camper!” Uh-huh.

My dad is en-route, but remember, he lives an hour away…and also, it’s rush hour. To make this already long story shorter, he shows up two and a half hours later. Yes. I was in that Petco with my puppy for two and a half hours. The workers and I are now on a first name basis. At one point, I stopped roaming aimlessly around the store and just sat at the front and welcomed people to Petco. Camper was like the official store greeter. She loved it.

My dad eventually showed up and because he’s the sweetest man alive, he bought me dinner and came over to hangout for a while. Honestly, it turned out to be an okay evening. However, I’m sure there are much better ways to spend your Thursday.