Although it was a fabulous weekend, it feels so nice coming home after being away.  (It’s amazing how quickly a little apartment in a new high-rise in a new city can feel like home.)

This weekend Michael and I went down to Monterey, CA for our church’s “Community Group (CG) Leaders Retreat.”  Michael co-leads a mens’ CG with a good friend of his, Brendon, so the guys wanted to go to the retreat.  Brendon’s wife, Julie, and I were “founders” of a women’s group, so although we aren’t really CG leaders, we went along too.

The retreat was a great learning experience and a really fun way to get more plugged into our church — getting to know the pastors, staff and other leaders within the body.  We learned a lot about the mission of the church, the role that we can play in that, and we enjoyed some pretty amazing wine (thanks Hal!!).

We had a little bit of down time on Saturday afternoon, so Michael and I took the 17 Mile Drive and checked out Pebble Beach and a little peak into Carmel.

On the way back we made a stop in Menlo Park for me to attend a friend, Christie’s bridal shower!  The shower was held over tea at an adorable tea room and it was such a sweet gathering of friends and family.

Now it’s off to doing laundry and getting settled back in before another week begins.  Love, Ashley