Last night we had 8 kids ages 7 and under in our home along with 4 adults. It was the best slumber party ever!
While David, Levi, Brigham and I lived in Rexburg Idaho we lived in an apartment complex (Rexburg Plaza) and were surrounded by some of the best people on the planet, in my opinion. We were all in the same boat; young parents in college without any family near by. We became each others family. One of our dearest friends were Ryan and Berni Button. They were such good examples to our little family. They just wanted to do what was right and it easily rubbed off. Its hard to see how I affect people for the better, sometimes, but there were times when I felt that I was good for Berni just as she was for me. There is something very satisfying in a friendship were you build each other up. It was hard enough to leave our beloved Rexburg, Idaho but it was even harder to leave all our wonderful influences like the Button Family.
Through the years we have been able to visit the Buttons in Rexburg because of trips we took up there to visit Amanda and some of our friends but then it came time for the Buttons to move on to their next phase in life. They moved to Pennsylvania so Ryan could get his Masters Degree. It has been a couple of years since we have seen each other but last night that all changed! Ryan just joined the Air Force and so on their journey to California they came to stay with us for a bit.
First we stayed in the house for a few hours to let their kids play with toys and just be anywhere but their van! Then came the outside water time. We played a game with water balloons before the inevitable water balloon fights!
Then we got the slip n slide out along with soap to make it more interesting! After a while Amanda, Steve, and Logan came over to see the Buttons also. Amanda lived with us for a few months while we lived in Rexburg and she got to the know the Buttons pretty well. Amanda's birthday was on the 21st and I wanted to take her out to dinner that night but she wasn't able to to. I thought it would be perfect to surprise her with a cake last night when she wouldn't expect it....well, along with some silly string being sprayed all over her!
There were many times throughout the day and that night that Berni and I would try to have conversations but with so many kiddos interrupting us I finally made the comment to her, "You know, its a good thing that we already established our friendship before our many kids came along because we haven't been able to finish anything!" So we made it a point for just me and her to go out and get some ice-cream before David and Ryan went out to watch a movie together. I knew I missed her but I didn't realize just how much until our time at Braums last night and then later as we stayed up way to late just talking. And it was so fun to be laughing at silly things with our friends back in mine and David's bedroom as the kids slept. It was really the only place we could go without waking up any kids because they were everywhere!
First we stayed in the house for a few hours to let their kids play with toys and just be anywhere but their van! Then came the outside water time. We played a game with water balloons before the inevitable water balloon fights!
Then we got the slip n slide out along with soap to make it more interesting! After a while Amanda, Steve, and Logan came over to see the Buttons also. Amanda lived with us for a few months while we lived in Rexburg and she got to the know the Buttons pretty well. Amanda's birthday was on the 21st and I wanted to take her out to dinner that night but she wasn't able to to. I thought it would be perfect to surprise her with a cake last night when she wouldn't expect it....well, along with some silly string being sprayed all over her!
There were many times throughout the day and that night that Berni and I would try to have conversations but with so many kiddos interrupting us I finally made the comment to her, "You know, its a good thing that we already established our friendship before our many kids came along because we haven't been able to finish anything!" So we made it a point for just me and her to go out and get some ice-cream before David and Ryan went out to watch a movie together. I knew I missed her but I didn't realize just how much until our time at Braums last night and then later as we stayed up way to late just talking. And it was so fun to be laughing at silly things with our friends back in mine and David's bedroom as the kids slept. It was really the only place we could go without waking up any kids because they were everywhere!Grandma and Grandpa came by last night to see the Buttons also. They had come out to visit us while we lived in Rexburg and got to know the Buttons a little bit. They really liked them a lot so they wanted to see them also. After they left, Ryan asked me, "Did they come all the way out here to see us?" I know it is only about a 15-20 minute drive but I was reminded of how impressive my family can be sometimes. My grandparents seem to teach me often how important family and friendships are; even if those friendships /meetings were short. If they made an impact on you, you make an impact on them, I guess.
No comments:
Post a Comment