Weekend update

So much has happened since I wrote last, and it's only Tuesday.
Friday, Casey and I drove to Kansas to surprise Grandma & Grandpa Shrimplin for their 50th wedding anniversary. I couldn't write about it for fear that someone would let the secret slip. The drive to Kansas was MUCH shorter than the drive from SC to KS, but there was a lot less to see... there was not much curvature to the road and it was slightly boring at times. Casey and I kept each other awake by listening to loud music and drinking a lot of caffeine. We got to Topeka around 11:30 p.m. and Charley Brown got to play with the big dogs for awhile. I think we all slept pretty well that night.
Saturday, we ended up having an early lunch with Lindsey and Sara at The Classic Bean. It was so great to see them!! Casey and I had a lot of fun catching up, and Casey got to tell them all about his new job, etc. After that, we headed out to Lake Shawnee to surprise Grandma & Grandpa Shrimplin. They were definitely surprised! We had fun seeing the family again, and playing with the little cousins. I took more pictures than I thought I did- over 200. You can check them out at this link.
After the party, we went back to Keith & De's place and made Smores. Lindsey came out for an hour or so and we got to chat some more. Aaron Brumley made it out, too, so it was nice to catch up with him as well. It was a late night, but it was definitely worth getting to hang out with old friends again. :)
Sunday we woke up and got ready for church. Keith made us some awesome Belgian waffles for breakfast! We made it to 2nd service and got to see quite a few people we hadn't seen in a long time. After that, we went to my parent's house so Charley could meet Yuki, their Shiba Inu. She was not very happy to see him! Charley didn't know the difference and he kept trying to get in her face and play, but she was not happy at all, and came at him with teeth! The meeting was short. She's a very pretty dog, and she's not bad at all around people, but other dogs must make her feel threatened. No worries though- Charley got to visit with 'grandma & grandpa' while Yuki stayed outside. It was nice to hang out with my parents again. Mom made chili so we scarfed that down... it was delicious, as usual! Shortly afterward, we had to head out of town. We left around 2, and made it back to the hotel around 10:30. It was nice to get home a little earlier and get to sleep. Well, I say that... the dog slept on my feet again, so I didn't sleep very well, but Casey seemed to. :)
Yesterday, I decided to get around and go run some errands. I decided that even though I was going to PetsMart to get food for Charley, I would leave him at home. It's a good thing I did. As I was waiting for the guy in front of me to turn right into the shopping center, I accidently looked down and didn't know I'd taken my foot off the brake slightly, and I bumped the back of his car. He got out and said, "You need to watch where you're going!!" which pretty much instantly brought me to tears. We pulled into the parking lot to assess the damage. Luckily, there really wasn't any, but he called the police anyway to get a record of the event. While we were waiting for the cop to get there, I found out that the guy's daughter's name was Ashley Brooke, too. He told me I "couldn't be a bad kid" because of it... haha. Anyway, long story short, he was fine, and when the cop came, he basically laughed at the guy for calling him. He wiped off part of the guy's bumper and said he really didn't see any damage. He also said that if it appeared to be under $500 in damage, the drivers are expected to exchange information and just take care of it themselves. I was much more calm after the cop assessed everything. I just felt like an idiot. It just goes to show that you can honestly take your eyes off the road for a SECOND and something can happen. I'm just glad I didn't hurt the guy or damage anything. (Sigh).
After that, I tried to find the nearest Walmart using the GPS. The thing sent me all over the place without finding a real Walmart. The first time it sent me to a parking lot. Then I went to a shopping center where you'd think a Walmart would be, but it was only Sam's Club. Finally, I found a real Walmart. In all, the errands I needed to make that shouldn't have taken longer than maybe 2 hours ended up taking 4. I was very glad to get back to the hotel and take a nap to try and forget what had happened. I was pretty frazzled by the end of it. Needless to say, I'm not really in a hurry to go anywhere today. I'm doing 3 loads of laundry at the moment, and I think I'll read my book for a bit. Other than that, I'm going to do a bit more searching online about going back to school to see my options. I think I'll stay here today, at least until Casey gets home.
That's all from me... and I'm sure it's plenty. :)

-Ashley