We made a pact.  About a year or so ago.  It was fast approaching and we realized it would be here before we knew it.  Our ten year high school reunion.  The reality that ten years had passed started to sink in.  We had been friends for a decade.  Some would think that these friendships wouldn’t last.  Sure, we all went to the same school but most of us weren’t good friends until the very end.  Just a few short months before graduation.  But when you find friends as good as these guys, you hold onto those friendships.  You treasure them.

That pact?  To go to the reunion but only if we all went together.  We did just that but we also wanted to do something more. We decided on a few days of houseboating up at Lake Shasta to kick off reunion week.  We’ve never been but it was a blast.  It was later in the season but the weather was perfect and we avoided the crowds.  The lake was stunning, the company was great and the sunsets were gorgeous.

Day 1: We arrived at Lake Shasta.  We got in too late to set sail that night so we stayed in the Marina and checked out our digs for the next few days.

Day 2: We set sail!  We learned how to stake the boat, spent the afternoon swimming and exploring.  We even spotted a deer.

That night, the light was amazing.  Gotta love friends who are willing to model.  It was a great way to spend an hour and they were all naturals!

Lauren and Jen – you two are such beauties!  And, I might add, with quite perfect hair after a day of sun and swimming.

I make Matt pose for the camera way too much so he got a free pass on this one.  But not before a quick picture of us.

10 years of friendship.  Love!  (Wish you fellow Lancers – Jamie, Josh and Martin – could have come.  We missed you!)

We enjoyed most of this sunset swimming in the lake.  It was a moment I wanted to savor and remember.  Just before the colors started to fade, I quickly dried off and grabbed my camera.

Day 3: We headed out of the heat into the nice and cool Shasta Caverns.  The view from the top of the mountain was beautiful!

The caverns were quite amazing.  So much to see everywhere you looked.

These boys became pro’s at staking the boat to shore by the end of the trip.

And one last beautiful sunset!

Thanks friends for one fun reunion week!  Happy Thursday!

It was instant.  At first sight.  From the moment we arrived in Chicago, I knew it was love.  The city immediately took my heart and each day we spent there, I adored it even more.  I joked with Matt over dinner the first night that he may have to drag me to the airport on the last day of our trip.  And friends, that became a reality when it was time to leave.

Chicago was our belated anniversary trip.  We’d never been and wanted to go somewhere new for a few days.    It was a much welcome break and just what we needed.  We walked miles and miles around the city.  We ate too much delicious food.  We did a bit of shopping and explored endlessly.  It was perfection.  And no vacay would be complete without lots of pictures to remember it by.

We stayed in the Water Tower District and had this lovely view from our window.

The food in Chicago?  Spectacular.  One of our favorites was Frontera Grill.

The bean!

I could get used to sunsets like this!

Our favorite meal?  Brunch at the Publican.  A-maz-ing!

Matt has been a huge Bulls fan since I can remember so no trip to Chicago would be complete without a stop to United Center.

Skydeck Chicago.  Only 1353 feet in the air.

Last night drinks at the John Hancock building.

Happy weekend friends!