A gift in this year: "The Improv Apartment"

So funny thing. All through college, my BFF Tamara did Improv, and she had lots of close friends from it who she talked about all the time. And I knew some of them, and thought they were great. But they were... you know... Tamara's Improv friends. I didn't ever hang out with them really or anything.

But, post-grad life shakes out as it will. They ended up living in Wheaton this year, I ended up living in Wheaton this year. Tamara and Steve moved into the city and we all collectively missed them. So we ended up hanging out. A lot.

And I LOVE THEM. It has been such a fun group of people and amazing source of community this year.

They were super supportive of humoring me and my need to have Seasonal Activities and even acted excited about them :-)- and were always the first group to want to plan one and participate whole-heartedly.

We went apple-picking:

 

 

And carved pumpkins:

(yes, and the story is true- after this afternoon my dad and stepmom commented on Tim and Marty being a "cute couple". They would like the world to be aware that they are not, in fact, a couple.)

AND THEY EVEN BUNDLED UP IN FREEZING FREEZING WEATHER AND WENT CAROLING WHICH MADE ME SO HAPPY I THOUGHT I MIGHT EXPLODE INTO A MILLION PIECES OF SEASONAL HAPPINESS:

(And nice people gave us cookies and requested songs. It was so wonderful.)

And they had people over to bake Christmas cookies!

There is always something fun going on in their apartment. Like when we have an hours-long insane Blizzard Party. Or zillion-people movie nights. Or are really excited when our friends get engaged!:

And they are the best people ever for chocolate-fondue-and-board-game nights:

And we went bowling a lot!!! And I TOOK PICTURES OF IT last time but they're on my lost camera. :-(.

And I enjoyed laughing at them I MEAN SYMPATHIZING as they struggled through several months in a pastel-colored, toxically-mold-infested house (true story... well, we think), before moving into their awesome apartment (DOWN THE STREET FROM ME!).

This group was such a source of fun. Sometimes after college you need just a bunch of fun people who want to do fun things and will all be hanging out together. SO grateful for their senses of humor, their energy, their insane inclusiveness (I am constantly hanging at their apartment and bumping into someone who I didn't even know knew them- "Oh, you're friends with these peeps too?" "Obvs."), and their artsiness by which I now have better musical taste and have even been introduced to a few video games :-).

But maybe coolest of all (I mean... it's a tie between this and the Christmas caroling),

they became real, deep friends. I'm grateful for Josh as a spiritual example and a prayer warrior in my life. I'm grateful for so-encouraging conversations with Marty and Steve, and walks, and reading, and eating soup together. I'm grateful for Tim's patient listening and Tim-ness through guy drama :-). I'm grateful that when my 10-year-old stepbrother came to visit they offered to take him to an arcade (who does that?! Awesome friends.)

I love you guys and admire you and I will miss you next year.

Thanking God for giving me the Improv people this year.

(sorry... I don't know how else to refer to y'all collectively. You know who I mean.)

.24.