Friends

So the boys have this little book -Poppleton- we love Poppleton- in one of the stories he decides he wants to live to be a hundred, and he heard the trick was to eat grapefruit so he tries it- of course this also means that WE ended up buying grapefruit at the grocery store because Cannon says "Mom, can we please buy one of those, I want to live to be a hundred!" Of course I go for that...when I'm lucky I can get away with buying oranges as the fruit of longevity instead! Anyway but in the story Poppleton finds out that grapefruit really isn't the trick-its friends! So with that goofy little intro I have say I've been thinking lately how important friends are to me and the significant role they play in my life.

I'm so grateful for my (relatively new) friend Jenna! She is a tremendous blessing in my life. I don't know if I've written the story here already or not but when I met her at the park, I just kept thinking get her number, get her number, get her number,... but I didn't do it! --She was super nice, her kids are just older and just younger than Cannon but I didn't want her to  think I was a crazy person so I didn't ask for her number. It was time for them to go-she had her kids completely loaded up in their van and she kind of walked back over and said "Would it be okay if I got your number?" Thank Heaven one of us was willing to listen to the Spirit! The Man in Charge new I needed a friend even more than I did. They other person who has kept me alive in the friend dept is my good friend Stacey. We I met last year--maybe around this time? She's great. We have a common friend-a gal in my ward-but I have a far better friendship with Stacey, and Cannon and Jake are good little buddies. Before I met Stacey if you would have told me my two closest friends in Mississippi would not be members of our church I would have told you that you were crazy, we have a church family/friends where ever we go in the world-we're 15+ million strong, its what we do--but ...there's more! I do share a faith with our ward members and friends here but I'm also learning how much I share values -and faith- with these other two incredible women and excellent mothers. Its cool. When my mom was in town we got to meet up and go to the park with Jenna and her kids. Jenna's mom was in town this week and we got to meet her too-she's an absolute delight! We took the kids to the bounce house, we went to jump then mini golf turned out to be just as much of a hit. So fun! Really a great time was had by all! This picture is way too blurry to keep or post but I just loved that even through the blur you can see how much fun they were having. Cannon kept saying "J.D.'s grandma watch this!" Whenever he would do anything.

So we have built this great little friendship-we love to do the play date thing, good for the kids GOOD FOR US! Everyone wins. So the friend thing had been on my mind and then I got the best text from my old friend Lindsey!

I was so excited...even just texting back and fourth about it was really fun. She calls me Lyn-only my family calls me Lyn--but she was family-when I got one of the text and it said "Lyn!..." I don' t know, it had been so long. But the time just melted away. We were so SO Close back in the day but...then we kind of went down different paths. Since it  had been so long I didn't really know what to expect. She had a tremendous influence on my life for good--both times I've taught teenage Sunday School classes I've told them about her-how she taught me "how" to got to the temple with the limited use recommended. There was that-and other things too, but there came a point when she decided she was kind of I guess "done" with the Mormon thing...for lack of a better way to say it. And there was no changing her mind. I'm not here to judge her. I hope the best for her, both in this life-and the life to come. We didn't want it to make things weird or different between us, but it kind of did...because we didn't really have much in common after that-or so I thought-or something- 

I don't have it all pieced together, I feel like I'm doing some learning though--Stacey and Jenna aren't members of the LDS church and Lindsey no longer is but they all add to me and make me a better person... I don't mean it in a selfish way but...you know what I mean! Anyway! 

Back to Linds, we were going to go to dinner, but ended up just eating -nostalgic Cafe Rio (ok it should have been Durango's) salads- here. But from the second she walked in the door it was just like old times!!! I'll tell you one thing we have in common, some great college and teaching years! It was so fun reunite. Hundreds of times better than I could have even imagined, it was great. Better than great. I swear something in my heart just jumped. Its been really weird that I don't feel like I can even describe it. Its not like Linds and I were best friends, we are, "I loved that [girl] I love her still I always always always will!" (That's another line out of one of the boys books -about a truck tough- :) but its fitting. And check her out all super cute...In my defense I did make dinner and have the house picked up enough it was presentable so tuck the fly aways behind and go with it right! :) Cann's looking a little goofy --and kept getting in her bubble-- and Colt...well he wasn't really interested in taking a picture with us! But the evening HAD to be documented!

It was so fun. (Have I said that enough?) We could have talked for HOURS. "I don't know the meaning of all things, but I know that God loveth his children!" And one of the ways I  feel his love is through His giving me friends to help me journey through this life.
The flood of memories has been one of my favorite parts. There's too many. To even start.... In the end I emailed and we set a goal to run a little race 10k or maybe a Half Marathon sometime in the next five years :) Hopefully that will get and keep me going on the old treadmill time. Now if I just had Who wants to be Millionaire to watch while I was running I really would be back in time. :) I regret that I don't know her husband-more than just his name...which is actually a nick name-- I mean we've met but that's about it. He seems like a really good guy! Hopefully we'll have a chance to get to know him better sometime too. I think we'd get along, I at least know he love sports :)
The reunion though-Such a highlight of my week!
Now onto the normal routine of the week rundown. Saturday Isaac opened his present from Santa...3 weeks later!!! Cannon gets his inability to wait from me that's for sure! Oh well Christmas lasts an extra long time Isaac's way-it was fun. Santa brought Isaac a helicopter that really flies, and he has actually really enjoyed playing around with it (I was happy about that.) Cannon LOVES it too and he's added that to the already mile long list of things Santa can bring him next year. Its pretty cute when they fly it together, Isaac keeps it up and Cannon runs it forward and back and turns and stuff.

 

Saturday after naps we hit up the AG museum for a few minutes before it closed. 

It was awesome because we were in looking at the trains and there was a guy inside the display cases working on them. Isaac started talking to him and he said "Excuse me sir, can you come down here." I totally thought he was meaning if you want to talk to me come down here to do it. But he showed him to the door and let us all inside behind the plexi glass. It was awesome.

It was REALLY hard to not to touch...ESPECIALLY when dad was. I kept trying to get my biggest boy not to touch either and he kept saying "But I'm older." To which of course Cannon said "I'm a big boy so I can touch but Colt can't." Yeah, it had disaster written all over it. BUT IT WAS SO COOL, I don't blame them for wanting to touch. I tried to make the picture of Cannon big enough that you can actually see it was a train hauling equipment. It was so cool. Its the same one Isaac is touching too.

Other exciting things from the week...well I know its the middle of January but I finally bought the boys coats. We've just had a little cold snap here and it been miserable and they really both just had jackets --so I went for it and tried to get next years sizes. I got a good enough deal its not the end of the world if they didn't fit next year. But they will. Cannon loves his Colt hates getting his on but look at the grin-he gets over it.

 

Being able to bundle them up a little made the park a possibility, and the sandbox too, it was SO NICE, I should have bought coats a long time ago! Then today it was beautiful and a jacket was plenty...and in 6 weeks we'll probably be in shorts but the coats have been nice when it was cold! I can't out guess the weather-that's for sure. Speaking of shorts though-today I bought them some for a whooping 84 cents (and one pair was only 29 cents--you know me and the thrill of a good deal I can't help myself, I love it. For $6 I think I got 8 things or something ridiculous like that. I was all smiles but moving on...

Colt loves to wear my shoes. And our friend Liz gave the boys some fun toys her boys are done with, Colt now has his own camera too! He wanders around saying "cheesss" its pretty cute.

 

This weeks fun trip to Walmart (because apparently its a weekly thing) we found an excavator working away and then a cement mixer came too. It was awesome the workers were so nice, when they saw us watching they waved us over to come look closer. They guy offered to let Cannon crawl up in the excavator but he went all shy guy on me :( It was really fun though, best baby sitter of the week! The boys could have stayed for hours!

And I will wrap it up but first 3 more of my favorite things from the week. Isaac loves to ask the boys who they want to pray. Colton ALWAYS picks Cannon, its so cute he points his finger at him. Cannon assured his dad it was in fact Colton's turn. So he said "Ok you help him." So Cannon was helping Colt pray--which Colt doesn't say much yet so whoever is helping pretty much just says it but Cannon stopped mid prayer and got Colt to actually say "Poppa" then told him "Good Job" then continued on with his prayer "We're thankful for Poppa and all our Grandmas and Grandpas." It was SOOO was darling. These two melt my heart! Thursday I was playing basketball and I had my own little cheering section saying "Mom-ma! Mom-ma!" It was the cutest dang thing!!! (although lets keep the record straight I'm not interested in raising cheerleaders.)  Cannon would also shout "Hey mom, are you winning? Are you going to win?" It was awesome.  And last but not least Isaac gave me the love note they wrote that I requested for Mother's day...it was so cute. Worth the wait. ...--but still hope I don't have to wait that long again ;) --