there is a first for everything (and this contains a lot of firsts)

I'm back from Europe, and I have been for almost two weeks. But as soon as I got back from europe, I left to ride RAGBRAI again, and that got over saturday. So I've been kinda busy, and now I'm super tired. I appologise for not being on. I really miss this place but part of me feels like I've grown out of mibba. It hurts me to say it, because I love it here. I'm definitely not leaving though, so don't worry =D

my list of firsts
first time in Europe (France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic)
first time without parental supervision for more than a week
first time a guy has admitted to liking me
first kiss
first boyfriend
first make out session
first time riding the whole entire week of RAGBRAI non stop, no walking up hills or anything

yeah, I know what you're thinking OMG! wtf? Erin has a boyfriend!??! how the hell did that happen!?!? Yeah, I know, I was thinking the exact same thing. let me explain.

I noticed I had a crush on shawn almost right away, and about halfway into the trip, I started to notice that maybe he might like me back. Like one time, he waited for me to finish my dessert before we went off into the mall, another time when I entered the bus and commented that it was hot and he replied saying it was because I was there, and one other time when we were sitting next to each other and he had his arm around the back of the bench, not me, but the bench. So one night, I thought to my self, wouldn't it be crazy if he liked me too? The next night I told kaily (my roommate) that I liked him, mainly because I couldn't keep it to myself any more.

The next day at an independent lunch, Ogi and I left to find the bathroom, and it ended up being closed, so we returned back to the table in time for me to hear Kaily finish up talking to Shawn. All I heard was "Go for it" but I had a feeling it involved me. The four of us left the restaurant, and then found a McDonald's that had a bathroom we could use. When we entered the girls room, Kaily pulled me aside and informed me of the conversation she had had with Shawn only minutes before. She told me that when Ogi and I had left, Shawn had told her that he really liked me, and at that, she told him that I liked him too. Later on in the day, the four of us went on a paddle boat ride, and while we were waiting, Shawn came over and talked to me. He told me that he really liked me, and I responded by saying I knew, that Kaily had told me and that I liked him too. We sat in the back of the paddle boat for the first half of the ride while Kaily and Ogi sat up front, paddled, and gave us our space. For the first five or so days we were "together" the only people who knew about us were Ogi and Kaily, and we wanted to keep it that way, at least for a while.

We kissed first in Switzerland, and for me, it was my very first kiss ever. It was at night, and Kaily, Ogi, Shawn and I were hanging out at this playground. Kaily and Ogi were out of sight, leaving Shawn and I on this rope bridge what was a part of the playground. It was slightly raining, though the tree above us kept us dry for the most part. Shawn stood up on the sides of the rope to make himself taller than me, and we kissed. It was short, and a little awkward for me, since I really had no idea what I was supposed to do, but I'm glad that was my first kiss. I'm not going to go into every detail of every kiss and moment Shawn and I shared, because that would take a while. On the last night, when we were in Germany, it hit me that after the next day, I wouldn't be seeing him for a while. After the disco that happened after dinner, Shawn walked me back to my room, but we stayed around the corner. He picked me up and we made out for quite a while before I reluctantly entered my room. That was the last time we kissed, because neither of us wanted to kiss in front of people in the airports. We didn't get to sit anywhere near each other in the planes either, which made the flight back home very long. I got a hug goodbye, but that was all we did.

It's a long distance relationship, obviously because he lives in nebraska, but I'm really happy when I'm around him. we call each other often enough though I still miss him. We really just hit it off, I guess, cause it seems like it all happened really fast. It's definitely not how I imagined my first relationship going, but I'm not complaining at all. =)

Now about the actual Europe part of the Europe trip, I won't go into too much detail until I have my pictures up, but we landed in Germany, then drove to France for a few days. Then came Switzerland, Austria, Germany (again), the Czech Republic, and then back to Germany for the last day and flying back home. I'll include city names when I get the pictures up. It was amazing for me mainly because everything is so beautiful and I felt so independent. Switzerland was my favorite place along side Prague in the Czech Republic.

Now on to RAGBRAI. RAGBRAI stands for the Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa. 442 miles this year, and I completed the whole thing. Last year, I walked up quite a few hills and took the van back to the camp site one time without finishing the day because I was too weak to. This year I was a lot stronger and managed to complete the whole thing. I still bike really slow compared to everyone else. It's kinda sad. I got passed by the person on roller blades, and the two unicyclists. But I completed the whole thing and that's what counts.

I haven't been on mibba much, and sadly, I'm leaving again tomorrow for warped tour. Since warped doesn't come to Iowa, my mom drives me and my best friend out of state to see it. I love my mom ^_^ This has definitely been a busy summer, and it's not over yet either. I still have so much left to do. I hope to visit shawn once and have him visit me before school starts, and I'm also going to St. Louis with my parents as well. The bad part? all of this stuff is going to be squeezed in before August 20 when school starts.

Ugh, I really don't want to think about school right now.

Peace&Love, Erin