When Your Best Friend Comes to Charlotte...

... you're going to have to take a lot of pictures!

And if you have to take a lot of pictures...

...you're going to have to have cute outfits to go with it!

If you have cute outfits...

...you're going to want to go to a pretty photo spot outside!

If you take pictures outside...

...you're going to want to do a lot of crazy shots!!

If you do a lot of crazy shots...

... YOU END UP HAVING A GREAT TIME!

And if you end up having a great time...

... It is sure that you will miss your best friend EVEN MORE when she leaves!

That's true! We did have a great time together and I am soooo glad that Nicole was able to come to Charlotte! Thankfully, I have an amazing sister who is willing to go out of her way just so her lil' sis can have a special weekend with her BFF! Thanks Camille for picking Nicole up and bringing her to Charlotte! Nicole arrived on Friday night around 6:30 with no time to spare! We had tickets for a 7 o'clock high school performance!! It just so happened that the weekend she was in town was our school play, Footloose! My friends Kelly, Lindsay, Francesca, and Noah all starred in the high-energy, high-fun production! Kelly was the lead girl and her talent was evident in every song, dance move, and smile! She inspires me to be a better person... academically, artistically, and personality wise! I'm so glad I met her, along with all my other Charlotte friends, this year! Anyways, so Nicole was able to meet Ashley (who sat with us in the audience) and then she met Lindsay after the show!! It was important to me that they at least got a brief introduction! Like all shows do, I was in such a good mood afterwards! Plus, the excitement was building for the great weekend Nicole and I would have together!

Here is my scrap page on Footloose and Friday night with Nicole.

And then on to Saturday-- we knew we wanted to take tons of pictures, for that is what us girls do best! So we decided to take dance pics first! Nicole was stunning with her perfect flexibility and poise! Can't say I loved the dance pictures of myself! Oh well! Then we got dressed up to take "real life" photos! I had the perfect location in the neighborhood already picked out! There is this small trail/cut-through that has a little bridge in the middle of trees and such! I knew it would be a wonderful place to take wonderful pics of two wonderful girls! We probably spent about 1 1/2 hours snapping pictures in the middle of the trail! I'm sure the pass-byers were quite curious as to what those teen girls were doing! Haha! We ended up with several great shots that captured every aspect of our friendship! I just love how photos tell such a great story! So here is the scrapbook page I did on our trail pictures! I do have one beautiful BFF!

And luckily, I have a best friend who as just as good behind the camera as she is in front of it! As they say, "your friend is the person who brings out the best in you"! And in our case, it's true! She always seems to catch great shots of me! I even put together a lil' page on my favorite pictures she caught of me! Thanks Nicole!

That evening, after the tiring photo shoot outside, we enjoyed spaghetti for dinner! Of course, a classic, but always an all-time favorite! We decided that to have a special spark to our evening we should head to the Big View Diner for dessert! Nicole and I shared the Oreo Cheesecake and the Brownie Sundae! That cheesecake is officially one of my favorite desserts of all time! Yum, yum, yum! To save pages and such, I combined our dance pictures and our dessert photos into one layout! I think it turned out quite cute!

On Sunday, Nicole attended church with me! The two of us went to first service together (and Mom, Dad, and Camille came to second service while we worked in the Children's Ministry). The message was incredibly moving and it related almost perfectly to Nicole and I's conversation the night before! We both were in tears by the end and even were able to share communion together! This is what sets Nicole above all friends! Her faith! The fact that I can sit in church with her totally comfortable and share worship and prayer with her is beyond amazing! I have confidence that she will always be a true, honest friend, and for that, I am forever grateful! For second service, Nicole helped me teach my 3rd grade girls! Again, how many friends are totally cool with being dragged along to serve! Those lil' girls are a big part of my Charlotte life so it is perfect that Nicole was able to meet them!

We all (Mom, Dad, Camille, Nicole, and me) enjoyed a lunch at BRIO!! Simply the best! The weather was beautiful all weekend and we even were able to dine outside!

Nicole and I spent our last hour together talking and looking at all the weekend's photos!! These pictures are the ultimate reminder of our friendship and the great time we had together! It is my hope that Nicole will be able to come to Charlotte again one day and I look forward to seeing her over Spring Break!

I am blessed to have so many blessings here in Charlotte, but it still is really nice to bring a little bit of Raleigh to the Queen City!

THANKS NICOLE FOR A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!

So glad you could come!

Love to all!

Kelsey