This week has been bittersweet. We have spent much of our time with our good friends, the Allens, in anticipation of their move to Arkansas. They left today. It is hard to say goodbye to a family that has been a part of your life for so long. Gabe and Kade were born the same summer and have been best friends their entire life. Jack and Jayd have know each other since kindergarten. As my children have grown up with this family, so have I.
We did many activities together. There were trips to the zoo, travel town, the science center, Lake Casitas, and many others. We went to the beach and swimming more times than I can count. There were baseball teams, fathers and sons campouts, ward activities and more. But even with all these quantifiable events where our paths crossed, there was something much more. Some of my favorite memories are the everyday occurrences; picking the kids up from school, babysitting
during a doctors appointment, days in the park, riding by and stopping to chat for a few minutes. They have been a part of my everyday life for 8 years. And so even though we spent the week going to farewell parties, having the last play dates, and one final girls night out, we still feel the loss of their presence. We are excited for them, and know that they will do well wherever they are because they are friendly, easygoing and fun people. We will miss them terribly.
We went out to Temecula this weekend for the blessing of my newest nephew, Collin Eichelberger. His blessing outfit was really....well.....different. He wore a pin striped suit pants and vest with a black button down shirt and a black tie. All he needed was a black felt hat to be adopted by Al Capone. It reminded me of the movie, "Mormons and Mafia", Collin was both! But it didn't matter much what he wore, he was adorable, and very well behaved.
We enjoyed spending the day with my sister, my parents, my aunt and two of my cousins with their families. We took a family picture. This was my favorite, the one where no one is looking, except this time, I am looking! It was a very fun diversion. Then after a quick stop at Grandma's, we all came back to my house to watch the superbowl. I thought it was a great game.
If there is one thing that you can generally count on in Southern California, it is the weather. Today it will be sunny and warm, and look, tomorrow will be sunny and warm, all the way into next week it will be sunny and warm. Typically, the only difference is HOW warm it will be. But this week we were treated to actual weather. I think it rained more this week than it has in the last 3 years. But we didn't just have a downpour reminiscent of the Noah's 40 days and nights, we actually had thunder and lightning. We only heard the thunder once, but it was quite a crack and all of the kids came home from scho
ol saying "Did you hear the thunder?" There were a few moments when we weren't enjoying our change of scene, like when Maddie was required to wade through a river to cross the street after school. But for the most part, we enjoyed running in the rain, and for a change, having real weather.
This week has been bittersweet. We have spent much of our time with our good friends, the Allens, in anticipation of their move to Arkansas. They left today. It is hard to say goodbye to a family that has been a part of your life for so long. Gabe and Kade were born the same summer and have been best friends their entire life. Jack and Jayd have know each other since kindergarten. As my children have grown up with this family, so have I.
during a doctors appointment, days in the park, riding by and stopping to chat for a few minutes. They have been a part of my everyday life for 8 years. And so even though we spent the week going to farewell parties, having the last play dates, and one final girls night out, we still feel the loss of their presence. We are excited for them, and know that they will do well wherever they are because they are friendly, easygoing and fun people. We will miss them terribly.
