My days in Minden: MTW

downtown Minden

What a busy week it has been! I have been in my hometown of Minden, LA since last Monday - a whole week! Originally I was only going to be in town Friday - Sunday for Father's Day. But I thought I might come in a few days early, so I posted on Facebook to see if I could drum up some photo shoots. I ended up booking three photo shoots for the week so I was happy that at least my gas was paid for and maybe even groceries for next week. :)

my traveling buddy :)

Monday I loaded up my stuff & Conner and drove to Minden Monday afternoon. We got into town about 7pm and drove straight to see the Lechners. Charlie & Angie Lechner have been a part of my life since I can remember. They are basically my brother & sister. I consider them family, along with their 4 kids: Coleson, Will, Luke & Abby. They are missionaries in Mozambique and will be in the United States through January! I have been waiting literally YEARS to see them! The last time I saw all 6 of them was at our wedding in 2008. We actually planned our whole wedding around their schedule because we wanted them to be a part of our special day. Charlie actually married us and Abby was our flower girl. :)

So... back to Monday night... I drove down & surprised them! I don't think they were expecting to see me until the weekend, so it was fun to just pop in on them just hours after they arrived in the USA! We ordered Johnny's Pizza (I ate a gluten free salad) and we sat around a visiting for a few hours before their jet lag took over & they collapsed into their beds.

Tuesday I had two photo shoots in Shreveport: one head shot session in the morning & one maternity session in the evening. The afternoon was spent visiting friends that live & work in Shreveport. I went to visit my cousin Lauren at her workplace and one of my best friends, Andrea, at her workplace!

Wednesday I hung around the house, had brunch on the patio of my parent's home, visited with mom, went to visit my grandmother, then headed to dinner with friends in Shreveport. I met my childhood friend Melissa, my cousin Lauren and my college friend Andrea for dinner at Superior Bar & Grill, one of my favorites places to eat in Shreveport.

the patio at Superior Bar & Grill

My days here in Minden have been full & happy! I always love coming back home except that Buie can't come with me because of his work schedule. It's hard to be away from each other because neither one of us can sleep well when we are apart. I never realized it as much as I did this week. After the second night of no sleep, I finally wised up and took a couple of Tylenol PM.

I'll finish up my week in Minden tomorrow. Must sleep for now. Me & Conner are headed back to Arkansas tomorrow to see the other half of my family: Buie, Scooter & Hazel! I miss them all so much!