Fallon Comes to Visit!

Dolphins! We saw at least a dozen when we were at the beach on Wednesday.
You might have to click on the image to see them better but I could have swam out and touched them they were so close! ( I was afraid though... That's me in the picture watching them from a safe distance...)
Yeah for the beach!
Close-up of the Bald Eagles at the zoo!
Crazy big Ostrich
Uh.... Not sure? Check out those feathers on top, though!
Fallon being Fallon :)


Sometimes the lines between friends and family get blurred. I can't say that I have experienced this with very many people in my life - two or three at the most, but Fallon is definitely one of those people. We met at the orientation for UGA's study abroad in Spain back in 2004 when she came up to me out of nowhere and asked if I had already found a roommate. I told her that I had not and without skipping a beat she asked "would you like to be mine?" We were glued at the hip from that moment on. I had never shared a room with anyone before and was incredibly nervous about this. She put all my fears to rest before we even got on the plane. She was the best roommate EVER in Spain. We saw each other at our highest highs and our very lowest lows. We had all of the same classes together and we took all of our excursions together. We got a long so well that we even backpacked together through Europe for a two weeks after our program ended. By the time we got back from Spain we didn't know what we were going to do without each other - so we decided that we might as well just stay roommates at UGA! We lived together for another year. Once the lease was up at the house (that we shared with two other girls) that we lived in my first year in Athens we both moved over to a different apartment complex. We each got a single apartment this time around but we still lived so close to each other that we cooked meals together at least 2 or 3 times a week. She was just a floor away. I can't tell you how many times she rescued me from giant spiders or helped me NOT write a paper... (we were excellent procrastinators.) We have since graduated from college (we sat next to each other during graduation,) and I have gotten married but that hasn't stopped us from seeing each other as often as we can and staying up-to-date on each other's lives. She was with me throughout Cliff and my entire "courtship." She was also one of my bridesmaids in my wedding. I can't count how many times she has put up with my rantings and ravings and worries. We having Shared tears and belly laughs and too many adventures to count. I could write a novel on our crazy adventures in Europe... we never planned more than a day or two in advance :)

I am going to miss her so much when I am in Japan. I am so grateful for her unconditional friendship. I know that a friendship like ours is a rare thing and I'm very blessed. Here's to you Fallon! Love you!