dinner and a play date

One of the hardest things about moving away from Fresno, for us, was leaving some really great friends behind.  If we could have loaded them in the back of our Penske rental truck and taken them with us, we certainly would have.  So here we are in Enid, 1500 miles away from our CA friends, having to start friendships from scratch.  Thankfully, Travis works with some pretty decent guys.  Last night we got together with one of his co-workers (Josh) and his girlfriend (Lesley) [and his girlfriend's dog (Pickle)] for dinner, dessert, and a round of Scrabble.  (These are the same people we met for lunch at the Texas Roadhouse down in OKC last Sunday.)  We had a lot of fun getting to know one another better over the course of the evening.  The cherry on top of the night was the fact that Ellie was invited to have a play date with Pickle - the most adorable, deaf Jack Russell terrier.  He is incredibly sweet, energetic, and he even knows sign language!  Pickle and Ellie had fun playing together and sniffing each other you know where.  I think they're going to be good pals. 

Pickle and Ellie

For dinner, Josh and Lesley made salad, garlic bread, and spaghetti.  This wasn't just any old spaghetti though.  It was "legen....wait for it.........dary".  The sauce was amazing.  I almost put some in my pocket to take home.  Travis and I were given the responsibility of bringing a dessert.  I wanted to make something that was fall-ish and a little surprising.  I found a recipe for a sweet potato cheesecake in a gingersnap crust that I though would be just that.  (You can click on the link to go straight to the recipe from Better Homes & Gardens' website.)  It's been a while since I have attempted a cheesecake, so I kept my fingers (and toes) crossed that it would turn out as tasty as it sounded.  Plus, who wants to cook/bake for new friends for a first time and have what they made turn our terrible?  Not me.  It was a risk, but I was willing to take it.  Luckily, I succeeded!  And I'm glad to have left overs in my fridge.  

sweet potato cheesecake in a gingersnap crust

you know you want a slice...

We had such a nice evening and look forward to getting together with our new friends again in a few weeks.  At that point, there might be 5 of us...7 if you count the pups.  That's some exciting stuff right there.