Fourth of July, etc

Hello again! It feels like so long since we've talked! I spent the last two weeks traveling, visiting various relatives in Texas and Oklahoma, and was without internet access for a lot of that time.

First, I flew to scenic Lubbock, Texas, home of Buddy Holly, to stay with my immediate family for a few days. The four of us then drove to bustling Shawnee, Oklahoma, home of Brad Pitt, to visit my grandparents. My dad's dad loves to make a huge deal out of The Fourth, inviting lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins over, then spending enough money on fireworks to make them all very nervous. After staying there a couple days, we were off yet again, this time to booming Tulsa, Oklahoma, home of nothing, to spend time with yet another set of aunts/uncles/cousins. I didn't take any pictures here, since my young cousin kept us so busy with swimming, volleyball, tennis, ping-pong, laser-tag, board games, and even more fireworks that I didn't have time to pick it up. Then it was back to Lubbock for 4 more days of non-stop excitement before finally flying back.

I generally don't enjoy going home for visits. I dread school breaks, when they kick us all out of the dorms and I have to go back to Lubbock for a week or a month. I've never actually lived in Lubbock (my family moved there after I came to school), so the number of people I know there can be counted on one hand. That said, I actually had a pretty good time these past two weeks. Maybe you can chalk that up to the fact that I wasn't stuck in one place the entire time, but I actually enjoyed most of the trip. I didn't really feel that need to isolate myself from the people around me after spending too much time being social. That introverted tug was still there, sure, but it wasn't quite so debilitating this time around.

Here's a few pictures I took while I was away, click for the giant version.

Lubbock: The Giant Side of Texas (they really call it that)