An Ode to Gary. And Indian food. And avocados everywhere.

In the last 24 hours three very exciting things have happened. First, I ate a meal. Like a HUGE meal. Like the best meal I've had in the last month. Second, I hunted down avocados. Third, my little brother got his mission call!

So first things first. FOOD. And me eating it. A girl from our group celebrated her birthday this last week, and in that we all won. Another girl had found an Indian restaurant in town. The restaurant picked up up from the dorms and had a private room waiting for us upon arrival. When you travel in groups of around 25 you get use to waiting for things. (Let's not talk about the time I waited over 2 hours for a plate of french fries.) And when in Ghana you get use to things not tasting like America. Except for this place. They were fast. The service was wonderful. We laughed. We almost cried. And we ate. And it didn't taste like America... it tasted better. Talking to the owner later and I found out it is because they charcoal cook everything, which isn't allowed in America. Ok. I'm going on way too much about this meal. Just know that my eggplant was perfection and that I've never had better naan and that I found out that they have a buffet on weekends... When I heard we were having Indian that night, the first thing that popped into my mind was "Yes! American food!" Which was funny. We are pretty spoiled with the kind of variety we get in the states.

Second piece of food news. They have avocados here! They just call them pears... hence the confusion. Oh Ghana. But now that I have made this discovery (along with a dish that consists of rice and beans), I am significantly more confident in my ability to sustain my own life over the next few months. 

Third piece of news. The only real news. Little Gary is going on a mission! Ok, so little Gary is a good 8 inches taller than me and only a year younger. Regardless. I am so proud of him. My younger brothers are twins and they were born 17 months after me. I have no memory from the time before they existed, which is really crazy to think about. They have always been there. They were my greatest pals all growing up and it's weird to think that I won't see them for two years. There are few people that can make me laugh harder than these two, and I am so glad that they are my family. Meaning I get to be with them forever. 

This is a collection of the few photos I randomly had on my computer. 

Remember how use to be the same height? And even though people thought we were triplets, I was always very well aware of my seniority. I like to think that my bossiness made you better people. 

You're welcome.

Big tall college boys! I'm so happy I got to visit.

Oops. How did this photo get here...

There cannot be anyone else on this earth who has spent more time playing games and hanging out with me than these two. And I'm glad it was these guys that I got to share childhood with. 

I translated their twin talk, they taught me how to catch lizards. 

SO TALL.

Lolz.

I am sorry for the lack of mention/face time Steven and Kylee. You guys are great too.

But get a load of how cute we are.

And Gary, I am forever glad that this will be one of our last pre-mission memories.

So much sibling fun.

I just realized that we totally matched that day too.

Thanks for climbing trees and building forts on your bunk bed. Thanks for watching Hook on rainy days and sleeping on the trampoline. Thanks for appreciating just how much fun a large log, the lake, and a hot day can be. Thanks for being the only person who talks louder and faster than me. Thanks for that one time when you pushed me and my elbow went through a window. Not that I'm holding grudges. I love you!