Catching Up (part 2)

The GRAND. OLE. OPRY.
Y'all, my friend Terri is married to Todd, who is part of Lorrie Morgan's band. Every so often when Lorrie plays the Opry, Terri gets to go with Todd and hang out during the show. One night at the beginning of July, she texted me and said, "Hey! Want to go to the Opry with us this week?!"
Ummm, duh I want to go! Later that week, I saw a billboard that said the Oak Ridge Boys were playing the night we were going and I just about lost it. I grew up sitting at my Aunt Beverly's piano with her best friend, Joyce, singing "Elvira" (over and over again because we asked for it)! Our family's favorite Christmas album of all time is "Christmas" from the Oak Ridge Boys circa 1982. I was SO excited just at the chance to get to see them perform, but the possibility of meeting them was just nuts!

 Terri said I should hold Todd's guitar and stand in front of the sign for the artists' entrance. I tried really hard NOT to feel like a poser!

In the center of the stage at the Opry is a circle that was part of the floor at the original Opry. It's where all of the performers stand while they sing. 

Riders In The Sky - y'all they are funny! They are cowboy country to a tee and I loved getting to watch them perform and getting to meet them afterward! They're Terri's favorites.

Honestly, I don't watch Nashville. I will say that living in Nashville, you somehow keep up with the storyline of the show anyway - kind of like living in Wilmington when One Tree Hill was being filmed. I at least know enough to be excited about meeting Charles Esten (who everyone there referred to as "Chip"). He was extremely gracious with everyone that wanted to say hi and take a picture, even though he was being pulled in 10 different directions!

I totally have a crush on Jackie Lee. When he took the stage he said, "I'm Jackie Lee, and I'm not a girl," which is funny because I totally thought he was when I read the lineup for the night! He was SO nice. I mean, it doesn't hurt either that he is really cute. Also.... listen to his music! He is good.

Lorrie Morgan is one of those people that makes you feel like you've been best friends for years, 30 seconds after meeting her. She is down to earth, and kind, and welcoming, and everything else you would hope for! It was so fun getting to meet her and hang out backstage in her dressing room. I mean, who does that - just hangs out backstage at The Grand Ole Opry like it's an every day occurrence?! So cool.

The BEST hosts for the night!! Thanks, Terri and Todd!

Oh ya know, just casually standing side-stage with half of the OAK RIDGE BOYS watching whoever was on stage at the moment. No big deal.

I screamed and jumped up and down when they sang "Elvira". No kidding, not even a little bit. Just ask Terri.

This was the first time since moving to Nashville that I was in town for the 4th of July. Tyler and Amanda live downtown in an apartment overlooking the river, so I went to their place to watch the fireworks show!

The remaining members of the house on 20th Ave celebrating Lauren's birthday at Arrington Vineyards! Living with these girls was such an answer to prayer during my time in Nashville!!

 At the end of July, I flew to Colorado to meet a group of high schoolers from Jacksonville and joined them on their trip to Wilderness Ranch! It was by far the hardest thing I've ever done physically, but we laughed SO MUCH during that week and I will forever be thankful for the friendships that were formed and the memories that were made on that trip!

 At the peak of Mesa Mountain in the Rio Grande National Forest!

 Almost 13,000 ft. above sea level!

Wilderness Ranch - Y'all, I think I fell in love with Colorado during this trip.

 Our Nashville family, minus Stu and Amanda. After Wilderness, I went back to Nashville for a week before I moved. One night, we went to the LA Jackson for a belated birthday celebration + a second goodbye. I am so thankful for these people and what they meant to me during my time in Nashville, but also what they will mean to me forever. We truly became a family. I don't know what I would have done without them!

When people say, "What took you to Nashville?" my answer has always been, "Well, I wanted to do something different, and my best friend lived there so I figured, 'Why not?'" I still can't believe this friendship. I always wondered if I would have a "Julie" - my mom's best friend for the past 26 years, and the funniest thing is that "my Julie" is from Texas too! I don't know that I've ever clicked with someone so immediately, or that I would be able to live with anyone else in the world while we shared a bed! Actually, I don't know anyone else that, when they heard you were moving tomorrow and didn't have anywhere to live, would say, "Oh! Just stay with me until you figure it out!" We speak our own language, we show up to things either dressed alike or matching, and I'm convinced we can read each other's minds. I am so thankful that the Lord put Emily and me in each other's lives, but I am still trying to figure out why he now has us in cities that are 600 miles apart. How good is it, though, to have friends that make leaving somewhere so hard?!