BFF's... :)

This past weekend was a rare treat...

i got to see some old friends...

which is one of my FAVORITEST things...

in the whole world...

...

let me give you a little back story...

after Lin and i got married....

and SHORTLY thereafter found out we were expecting a baby...

i packed up my life and moved to Corpus Christi, Texas...

i was scared of the new life i had chosen...

i was a new wife....

a new MILITARY wife...

and a soon to be mom...

none of which i would have expected for myself...

just 6, or 3, or even 1 month prior to it actually happening...

but, i tell you what....

God knew what He was doing...

and He had prepared a group of women for me...

they were all wonderful military wives...

some just starting up...

some just finishing up...

with military life...

with having kids...

there were other prego gals..

other CRAZY gals...

and really, against the odds...

i found a group that i fit right in with...

and it really made my life easier...

then...

and now...

because the amazing part of this group of gals...

and there were 7 or 8 of us at the time...

is that a lot of us have all done a pretty good job...

of keeping in touch over the years.

And this is the type of group..

in which time does not pass...

where you pick up a new conversation right were you left off...

3 months, or 3 years ago...

it doesn't matter.

Needless to say, I'm thankful for these girls...

and I'm even more thankful when i get to see a few of them in person..

like i did this past weekend :)

We had the Halvorsons stay for the holiday weekend...

now, when I met Jenn...

she was pretty newly pregnant...

just like me.

In fact..

her daughter Marin...

was born about 3 weeks after Ayden...

so she turned in to my "this-weird-thing-is-happening-to-me-is-it-happening-to-you?" friend :)

and i'll ALWAYS be grateful for that :)

and she has been a great friend ever since...

they live in Phoenix..

so i've gotten to see her family a bunch over the years...

every time we visit the Hayes fam..

we make it a point to get together with Hal and Jenn and the girls...

and I lOVE that :)

OK, and now, for my partner in crime...

Nicole Davidson is a special kind of gal...

the kind that brings flowers to your house on a bad day...

the kind that calls when you need it most...

the kind that makes you want to be a better friend...

and i was thankful for meeting her 6 years ago...

and i'm especially thankful that we've kept in touch as well as we have...

she has the greatest family...

her two little boys are A-dorable :)

her hubby Harley is tolerable...

ok, ok, i actually LOVE Harley...

but I'll only admit that here because I know he doesn't read this blog.. :)

Here's a quick pic of some of the girls back in the day...

I've circled the three of us that got to hang this past weekend :)

Anyway..

as you can see...

i was a lucky girl this weekend when both families ventured to the Washington DC area...

and we only had one day ALL together...

but, oh what fun :)

So thank you to the Halvorsons for spending your vacation with us...

I'm telling ya...

4 little girls running around is such a whirlwind..

but Ayden and Micah LOVE Marin and Avery :)

and Lin and I love the crazy conversations and the even crazier adventures we've had :)

Note to self: the Disney vacation worked out better than the trip to Arlington Cemetery.. :)

AND thank you to the Davidsons, for fitting us into your busy "family-packed" schedule...

I know you had tons of family up here that wanted to see you...

I'm thankful for the day we got to spend :)

And the day wouldn't be complete without a few pictures...

and I should really have taken more...

but I was just too busy hanging out..

and enjoying the time.. :)

This is what taking 4 girls, all 5 and under, around DC looks like :)

And since Marin and Ayden have know each other since BEFORE birth..

I thought i'd share how far they've come :)

Here they are at Ayden's 1st birthday :)

And here they are now :)

and when we lived in Corpus...

there was only Ayden and Marin...

and then the Davidsons had a coupla kiddos..

and we and the Halvorsons had a coupla more kiddos...

and here's where we are so far...

it was a miracle they all looked at the camera at once :)

And last but not least, us girlies :)

and, as you can see...

we (at least Jenn for sure) aren't quite done making new kids :) (she's due in March!) 

It was such a great weekend that I'll remember for a long, long, time :)