Friends and Family: Part One

 One of the hardest things about being in Utah, was knowing that there was NO way we could meet up with and visit all of the many friends we have who live there. :(  It really was a bummer -- especially after driving ALL the way out there.  There were only a few people outside of family that we had time to see, and Monday, the 11th, was one of those days!

The Checkettses were the VERY first friends we made when we lived in St. Louis.  I'll never forget the day we met them -- it was our first Sunday there, and I had just spent the afternoon crying to Scott about how hard the move was and how hard it was to make new friends, and that I missed my old friends, etc. and a few hours later, Charity and Kelly and their kids showed up on our doorsteps with cookies and friendship.  We started a babysitting swap with them and one other family almost right away, and as a result, our kids grew super close as well.  Haela and Grace were kindred spirits, and Sophie, Jane, and Alex each have their Checketts counterpart as well.  :)

It's been a couple of years since we've seen them, but meeting up at Manilla Creek Park Pond was just like old times.  The mark of a good friendship is being able to pick right back up where you left off as if no time has passed at all -- no matter HOW long that time has been.  And these friends pass that test with flying colors!  :) 

 Sand and water seem to be a kid's best friends.

We spent a lovely couple hours at the "beach" before needing to get back to Scott's parents house and put the baby down for a nap.  Even though our time together was short, I'm so glad we were able to catch up for a bit before we left Utah!

Our afternoon/evening was spent chilling at Grandma's house, with a quick trip back to the BYU bookstore and then a meet-up at the Creamery with some of my Hansen cousins for a nice FHE ice cream treat.  Growing up, these cousins lived in California, so we really only ever saw them every couple years at our big family reunion in Hiko, NV.

It was fun being able to visit with them while we were still in town!  As an added bonus, we had lots of BYU sports campers to entertain us as they roamed about on a digital scavenger hunt with their groups.  Apparently one of the "items" on their list was to take a picture of someone with a beard, so we inadvertently joined in on the fun as well.  Hahaha.  Between Derek's beard and Rebecca's husband's beard, our group was bombarded with several picture requests before the groups scattered off.  Meanwhile, I think Ethan got a big kick out of being part of a human body spelling of "BYU" before we wrapped up our festivities and headed home for the night.  

{B-Y-U}

Unfortunately for my sake, I had tweaked my back a little by the end of the day, and between not being able to get comfortable that night -- and starting a book that I just HAD to finish -- I couldn't fall asleep until almost 4 in the morning.  Yikes! {Note to self -- don't start a new book at 9 o'clock at night.}  Thankfully, it didn't stop me from enjoying the next day's planned activity of a trip up to Mirror Lake.  Stay tuned for more family and friends...