Love'em through and through.

 
A weekend away, in the mountains, with 18 sweet KD's from my graduating class... it was fabulous.

The leaves were breathe taking.  The company was hilarious, full of energy and super fun.  The house was huge, and slightly weird in decor (think Grecian gone wrong in the 80's).  The activities were more on the geriatric side this year- hiking, cooking and chatting.

As a group we have so much to celebrate!  Babies on the way; a few weddings down and a few on the horizon; a couple new jobs and a few new houses.  Much to be thankful for- and Cody did a great job naming everyone's highlight from the year.  I was impressed. 

I'm particularly thankful that Jennifer brought our senior year slide show.  That was definitely the highlight!  Oh the places we have been.

Other highlights included some sweet s'mores made over a fire instead of in the microwave, hiking off the blue ridge parkway with "dot" the hunting dog that apparently hunted sorority girls, an awesome Sante Fe Soup for lunch made by Mary Chandler, and a walk around Lake Junaluska.

Santa Fe Soup

Ingredients:

2 lbs ground turkey

1 onion, chopped

2 (.5 oz) packages Ranch-style dressing mix

2 (1.25 oz) packages taco seasoning mix

1 (16 oz) can black beans, undrained

1 (16 oz) can kidney beans, undrained

1 (16 oz) can pinto beans, undrained

1 (16 oz) can diced tomatoes with chilies, undrained

1 (16 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained

2 (16 oz) cans white corn, undrained

2 cups water

garnish: sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, sliced green onions or fritos

Instructions:

Cook meat and onion together until meat is browned. Stir ranch-style dressing mix and taco seasoning mix into meat. Add remaining ingredients with juices from all. Add water. Simmer for 2 hours (don't really have to simmer that long if you don't have time). If the mixture is too thick, add more water.

All around good good times.