We have these friends who used to live around the corner from us here in the desert. Dave and the parents go way back to high school, and our kids match up with theirs perfectly. They have a boy, then three girls all in the exact same grades as our kids. (They topped off their family with a dog though, and didn’t go the extra mile to get us a buddy for Lucy…but luckily Lucy adores dogs 🙂 Years ago they picked up and moved to Virginia for work. We still mourn over that. We got to visit them when we went to D.C. a few years back:Love these guys. Anyway, back to this summer…after the bulk of our road trip and our sleep-over with Carol Lynn (back here), we went to Provo to drop Max and Elle off at BYU. Max was doing volleyball camp and Elle did her first EFY. They were extra excited because we got to meet up with these old friends we all adore so much while we were in Provo. Here are the “then and now” pics: Max and Holden way back when: This summer:(Don’t let that camera angle fool you into thinking Max is taller than Holden…it was so weird to see these two boys tower over us all at pretty much the same height…and it was even more weird that they are suddenly like these men standing there.) Elle and Emma: …and here they are ready for EFY (with two of their other best friends): Katie and Grace:(Katie looks a tad bit worried in that one…) Reunited: And Claire and Claire (yep same name, even same birthday): They’ve grown up so much! Ok let’s pause for just a second while I wipe away my tears. Where did all those years go so darn fast??? We ate bagels for breakfast. These four could not have been more giddy to be together. Can you tell? And the other pairs didn’t stop talking the whole time either..so excited. The moms: Then it was off to check them all in. This is about as much as I got to hang with Max…He was just ready to get going and surprisingly didn’t really care to have his mother hanging on his arm worrying about him:) He went to this camp completely alone and I was dying because at his age I would have been mortified. He didn’t even end up getting assigned a roommate the whole time. I was sick about it all week, but he sure took it in stride and had SUCH a great time making new friends and learning more about this sport that he loves. Dave was the puppet-master behind this whole deal…going alone, working hard, being forced to make new friends and man alive, I’m grateful for his wisdom. Max grew by leaps and bounds that week. The only pictures I have of the rest of the week were from when my brothers went to watch him (they were there for a work training and took some time one evening to go watch…they made me cry they were so sweet to show so much support). Here are the pictures they got: (That was Max serving.) It was so fun seeing him in action since we were long gone to Bear Lake by then. This is all I got from Elle that week:(That was her awesome counselor.) I’m so grateful for such great places for our kids to learn this summer, but seriously, how did they grow up to be so independent while I blinked?? I wrote a lot more details about how I feel about that growing-up thing after their camp last year back here. After we got the big kids tucked in safely at BYU the little girls and I headed the rest of the way to Bear Lake. Of course we HAD to stop for raspberry shakes as we rounded the corner and saw our beloved lake for the first time. Oh man, we adore this place and the adventures we had there which documentation is coming next.
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I need to move to AZ, becuase all you moms look amazing!!!
i have a question for your post on friday. it's about baby names. can you tell us what are all your kids' first and middle names are? did you and dave agree on their names? how did you come up with their names?
what are some other names you love and would have used if you had more children?
You really captured Bear Lake in that last photo! That's what it really looks like, and I've searched for photos that capture its essence. You got it!
I have not commented before, but Do you and your husband have any BIG disagreements on raising the children, and if so what are the 'issues' usually about?
Also, Max lives in a sea of young sister/their friends, in a recent survey that SHOCKED me, it said 87% of boys have seen pornography in some ways by the age of 11, and 6 univerities were surveryed and 100% said they had seen in it in some form. How do you protect Max, and is it a huge concern?
how awesome is that that yours guys kids are so close in age!! its great that they are reuniting and I cannot wait to see more about Bear Lake! looks like a blast
My mouth is watering for one of those raspberry shakes! I love those!
Hi Lucy
My name is Jenna. You are a brave courageous fighter. you are a special miracle from god, a gift from above, earthly angel,and you are a smilen hero. You are full of happiness, life, smiles, joy, fun,love, and spunk.
I was born with a rare life threatening disease, and have 14 other medical conditions, and developmental delays.
I wrote this poem
Each of us are Special
Each of us different,
No one is the same
Each of are us are unique in our own way,
Those of us who have challenges, we smile through our day.
Those who of us who have challenges, we smile through our day.
It doesn't matter what others say
we are special anyway.
What is forty feet and sings? the school chior
http://www.miraclechamp.webs.com
Eeek! I LOVED seeing the pictures of the Greenes. Wish they still lived here. I also still wish I lived across the street from you.
So great to be "in the loop" on these kids' summer adventures without us!