TEXAS FAMILY -
Swansons and our family were close. We had become the type of friends that have no problem inviting each other over for leftovers, changing each other's chidren's poopy diapers, and consulting about what color to paint every room in the house (and then helping paint it). We spent an entire summer together at Splashtown. Mindy, Hailey, Hunter, & Taylor were able to visit for 2 days. We saw the Seattle sights, laughed at our crazy kids, & even got to have a girl's night out. I didn't realize how much I had missed them until we got to play for a few days and then they disappeared again. TX and WA are TOO FAR AWAY!!
LONG LOST FAMILY-
Unlike the Swansons, who we were used to seeing on almost a daily basis, I had not seen my Aunt Nadean or Uncle Paul for several years. One perk of living in Washington is that now she's only a 2 hour drive away. When my cousin and her family were visiting, Danny, Kaylee, and I made the drive to Harstene Island to see Cindy, Jeff, & Sarah. Though it had been over 6 years since we'd seen each other, we had a wonderful time exploring the beach & catching up. Family is always family no matter how time passes.
BYU FAMILY-
These are a few of my roommates & best buds from college. Many, I also went to high school with so our history is long. Somehow when you share studying for finals, eating on a tight budget, working at the Cannon Center, & staying up too late talking about boys, you grow together. Hooray for facebook and blogs that keep us close even though there are many miles between us. This is a collage of several different visits I've made to UT over the last few years. It's always fun to see Becky, Leslie, Karen, Amy, & Robyn (though she doesn't live in UT anymore . . . and stinkin' Dana is all the way on the East Coast!!) and how our lives are changing. Between us we now have a PhD and 17 kids. Wow. (Sorry for the bad picture Les - and lack of pictures of Becky and her brand new adorable boy!)
RICHLAND FAMILY-
We love having my parents and brother, Aaron, only 3 hours away. We spent a fantastic Memorial Day weekend with them and were able to celebrate Aaron, my dad, and Matt's birthday. We got to attend a Tri-City Fever (indoor football team) game & saw Iron Man 2. Both were quite entertaining. It's so fun having grandparents nearby!
BABY FAMILY-
Cara and I became first time moms only a few months apart. During the last months of my pregnancy with Danny, we walked every morning together with newborn Allison in a stroller. We shared the joys (first smile), scares (mysterious rash), exhaustion (another sleepless night), and excitement (she rolled over!) with each other and consulted on everything from baby food to messy diapers. We started a baby group with some of the other new moms in our ward, and it was the highlight of my week to have lunch & grown up conversation while our babies stared at each other and rolled on the floor. Now our babies are turning 4 and our newer babies are quickly approaching their 1st birthdays. It was so fun to see Cara, Alli, and Lisey while we were in Idaho!
IDAHO FAMILY
Matt's mom got married in the Idaho Falls Temple a few weeks ago. Her and her new husband, Warren Mauger, joked they found each other just in time. The festivities went very well. I gained immense admiration for Warren when a dentist's visit for a toothache led to having a wisdom tooth pulled the day before the wedding. He toughed out the pain and still managed lots of smiles on the wedding day, giving LaRue the reception and day she'd always wanted. It was fun to have all the family together to celebrate.
In addition to the wedding, we got to celebrate Luke, Kaya, and Matt's birthdays. Danny LOVED roasting s'mores for Kaya's birthday and trying to help Uncle Lance use the axe to cut firewood. Why is my son so drawn to danger? He also had so much fun playing with all his cousins and gardening with Grandma Angie. My one regret of our visit to Idaho is I did not get nearly enough pictures!! Next time . . .
Whether genetics, marriage, or friendship link us together, I'm so grateful for all my family!
4 comments:
Yea for family! Glad you could visit and we could catch up even if it was only for an hour =) Miss you!
It was so fun to see you. I am so glad that even though we live far apart we can get together and have fun just like old times, well, except for the fact that we are chasing children.
your post got me teary. so glad we got to see you even if it wasn't quite long enough. you're so likeable you've got tons and tons of family! we love you guys!
Thanks for the wonderful pictures of and comments on and family and friends. Nothing is more important. You have captured the joys of family and close friends really well. We think that you have 2 of the 6 most wonderful grandchildren in the whole world. Dad
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