Melissa comes to Indy!

Last weekend, one of my best friends came to Indiana for the weekend. I met Melissa when I in my 7th grade English class. We quickly became friends and have some wonderful memories together. We survived the drama of junior high and highschool and then went on to be roommates at BYU. It is also partly because of her that I met and married Tom. In Fall 2002, I was in Paris on study abroad. Melissa started dating James Winder, Tom's cousin and roommate. I called her a few times from Paris to hear how her relationship was going and after I got home she invited me to a New Year's Eve party at James' house. I went to the party and that is where I met Tom for the first time. I would also tag along with Melissa when she went to visit James' apartment, always hoping to see Tom. We also went on a few double dates together and both of us ended up marrying them. It's been so fun to be apart of the same family and see each other at family parties, reunions, weddings, etc. And even more fun...our girls, Ainsley and Hannah are second cousins!

Meslissa and her husband James are currently both students at Duke University in NC. James is getting his MBA and Melissa is getting her Nurse Practitioner. Melissa came to Indianapolis for a Nursing Conference held at the Indianapolis Convention Center. I drove up to spend the weekend with her. Her mom Kathie also flew in from Utah to take care of Hannah while Melissa was in classes and presenting. We had a lot of fun together. I got to see parts of downtown that I hadn't been to before, we did lots of shopping, and then I brought them to Bloomington to show them the university and take them to the artist colony Nashville near my home.

Melissa showing her research findings during the conference

We walked along the canals downtown and hoped to go in the NCAA Hall of Fame museum, but unfortunately it was closed

So the girls enjoyed feeding the ducks swimming in the canals instead.

We walked around a beautiful park right along the river

Ainsley and Hannah enjoyed getting to know each other again. They haven't seen each other since March and Hannah was so tiny then.

We shopped in Nashville for crafts, fudge, and fun souvenirs. Kathie bought us some yummy treats in the Nashville General store such as pickled green beans, Indiana Pure Maple Syrup, Apple Butter, and Eucalyptus Extract to clear up Melissa's stuffy nose.

Kathie had brought matching outfits for the babies from Utah. They looked really cute and people kept asking if they were sisters...not sisters, but cousins!

Ainsley 18 months, Hannah 10 months

Here is Ainsley stealing some of Hannah's Gerber Puffs during one of our shopping trips. The downtown mall was attached to our hotel, so Kathie and I did a lot of shopping while Melissa was at her conference. We bought tons....four separate trips to H&M might have been why:)

On our last day, we decided to hit the Indianapolis Motor Speedway where the Indy 500 is held. We toured the Hall of Fame Museum and then went on a tour that took us around the track. It is huge-2.5 miles long!

Kathie and Hannah

The final turn before the finish line

Ainsley enjoyed the bus ride around on the track

The track is known as the Brickyard, because the original track was all bricks. The bricks are still there, just covered with asphalt except for this strip along the finish line.


It was an awesome weekend and I was so happy to have visitors from back home! It was so special to show them where I live and what my life is like in Indiana! Thanks for coming Melissa and Kathie! Thank you Kathie for spoiling us so much! It was a blast!!!!