A sweet reminder

Our friends Jen and Jack (and their two boys Evan and Liam) came to visit for 5 days and it was such a great visit! It was a sweet reminder of our past life in NY and the awesome friends we were blessed to grow up with, go through college with, the dating experience with and so on. We've lived down here for 8 years (actually John's been down here 9 years) and we have made awesome friends; people with whom we've gone through a lot with- the newlywed stage, the not so newlywed stage, our miscarriages, moving back and forth, job changes, and kids BUT spending a few days with old friends...was just really special! At one point when we were sitting in the living rook after all the kids were sleeping (finally!), I looked at everyone and said, "Guys...we're all grown up. We're like...adults!" We laughed a lot, enjoyed watching our kids play (and fight) together, and ate some good food over their visit. Until next time!

8 years with you

8 years with you, John and never a dull moment. Here are my top 8 memories/experiences with you since being married! (in no order of importance...)

1. Moving into our Newport News house and living with you for the first time. Since we never lived together before getting married, this was a HUGE experience for us! You carried me through the front door like such a gentleman!

2. Celebrating every holiday with you as a married couple! We are a team, and holidays are always better with your best buddy by your side.

3.  Going to Goodwill to buy furniture and decor for our house when we were newlyweds. We didn't have much money, but we did the best we could do with our finances at the time. (The furniture was hideous, but we didn't know it at the time.)

4. All the trips we took to Lowe's. It seems as though there is always a home improvement project going on at our house. In our first few months of marriage we did everything together, including running errands. I remember holding your hand as newlyweds walking up and down the isles of Lowe's...so in love!

5. Going to Europe with you. It was a business trip on paper, but we had more fun than most have on business trips! We ate lots of good food, drank good beer (you more than me), and saw tons of beautiful cities!

6. Sushi. We enjoy it more than any other meal. It's our celebration food!

7. Watching you become a dad for the first time. You were a natural. You made it look easy!

8. Watching you become a dad for the second time. You love our two girls in a protective, fun, adventurous, and generous way!

Cousins

Cousins are awesome, just ask Avery! She had a BLAST with Sam and Stella when they came for a visit! They flew home yesterday afternoon, and she has already asked about them a few times :( I didn't grow up seeing my cousins a lot because of the distance between us, and unfortunately it's looking the same way for Avery and Lucy. Instead of focusing on missing them, and being sad that it'll be months and months before we'll see them again, we are going to focus on how much fun Avery had with them, and talk to her about the fun things they did together and the nice memories they made.