Reunited...and it feels so good.

If you are one of the 9,000 people who reads Shawni's blog everyday, this will be old news to you.  But, for the sake of my own memories, I am going to write about it anyway.

During the first weekend in March, I flew to Arizona and met up with six of my dearest high school friends as we collectively celebrated our 40th birthdays.

As I look back on my life, I count my friendship with these girls among my greatest blessings.  As anyone who has survived high school knows, there is a lot of figuring-out that goes on in those years and I am so grateful I had these girls by my side to help me figure it all out back then.

And as anyone who has ever been an adult or been married or has been a mother knows, there is still a lot of figuring-out going on.  It was so good to chat with these wise women and learn all the things that they have figured out in their lives and commiserate about the stuff we are all still trying to learn.

Over the course of countless conversations that weekend, we tried to remember and dissect exactly how we all became friends.  A few of us had been friends in junior high.  A few had dance together their freshman year.  Some had splintered off from other groups.  We remembered bits and pieces of what brought us together, but no matter how hard we tried to figure out the history of our friendship, we were never able to fully re-create it.

What I do know is this: for the past 25 years (ouch!) I have loved these dear friends.  We have all had struggles and joys.  We've all experienced heartache and happiness, but through it all we have remained friends.  And not just friends, but the best kind of friends -  ones who even if we haven't seen each other in ages, when we get together we pick up right where we left off, and talk and laugh like 16-year-olds all over again. We have a common understanding of where we came from and what made each of us who we are.  It is good to be in the company of old friends.

Yes, we all ordered the same thing; the Thai Steak and Noodle Salad at Hillstone.  Delish!

As I flew home from this amazing weekend, I thought of a quote by C.S. Lewis I have always loved:

"In Friendship...we think we have chosen our peers.  In reality a few years' difference in the dates of our births, a few more miles between certain houses, the choice of one university instead of another... the accident of a topic being raised or not raised at a first meeting - any of these chances might have kept us apart.  But, for a Christian, there are, strictly speaking, no chances. 


A secret Master of Ceremonies has been at work.  Christ, who said to the disciples, "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you," can truly say to every group of Christian friends, "You have not chosen one another, but I have chosen you for one another." The Friendship is not a reward for our discrimination and good taste in finding one another out.  It is the instrument by which God reveals to each the beauties of others."

In the end, it doesn't matter how we all came together.  What matters is that we were brought together and we have stayed together.  These girls continue to be a blessing in my life and when I say my prayers at night, I thank my Heavenly Father for their friendship (and for the three who couldn't make it.) I also pray that when my kids reach high school, that they will end up with friends as good as the ones I had when I was their age.  It will be a blessing to them for the rest of their lives.

It was a great trip - so fun, so hilarious, and so rejuvenating!  I can't wait to do it again next year!

"Moochie"

On a day like today, when we wake up to a fresh dusting of snow on the ground, I love looking at the pictures from our trip to Florida, and remember what the sun and sand felt like.

One of the highlights of our trip was the day we met up with Andrew's aunt Allyson and her husband Jeff.  When we scheduled our trip to Siesta Key, we didn't realize that Ally and Jeff lived just twenty minutes away from where we were staying.  We were so excited to discover they were so close and even more excited when they invited us to spend the day boating with them.

Abby, Ally, Andrew, and Henry

Jeff and Allyson took us on a tour of the Inter-coastal Waterways between Venice and Sarasota, Florida and out into the open waters of the Gulf.   We had such a fabulous day.  The sun was shining and warm, the water was an incredible greenish-blue color, the houses lining the water were delightfully ostentatious - perfect for gawking, and the company was the best.

Ready for adventure.

As we drove around, Jeff and Allyson told us about the area and about the waterways, but the thing that intrigued us the most, was when they mentioned that in one section of the water, there is a dolphin who is known for following boats and begging for food.  As soon as my kids heard that, they were on a mission to find this legendary dolphin.  Like a group of explorers intent on finding the Loch Ness Monster or Big Foot, we were determined to see this dolphin firsthand.  

After a morning spent soaking up the sun and goofing around on the boat, we stopped for lunch at Robert's Bay.  We feasted on yummy sandwiches made by Allyson (why does a sandwich eaten outdoors always taste so amazing?) The water was really shallow and the kids had a great time jumping off the boat into the water and swimming around.

Abby was photographer extraordinaire on this trip... 

Before we knew it, it was late afternoon, and despite several attempts at locating the elusive dolphin, we still hadn't found him.  As we made one last pass through the section where he was rumored to be, our eyes scanned every inch of the horizon as we hoped to catch a glance of the dolphin.  

Finally, we spotted a flash of gray, jumping through the wake of another boat.  We went crazy - so excited that we had finally seen the dolphin.  But of course, the euphoria of that moment quickly wore off and we knew we wouldn't be satisfied until the dolphin swam up next to our boat. 

We circled the area several times as the kids called the dolphin, begging him to swim over to our boat so we could get a better view.  One of the passers-by saw our desperate attempts and told us that the dolphin's name is Moochie - because he loves mooching off of boats.  

"Moochie," the kids called.  "C'mere Moochie.  Here Moochie."  Surprisingly, the dolphin wasn't too quick to respond.  

Just when we were getting ready to give up and head for home, we looked behind the boat and saw what we'd been waiting for all day.

All dolphin pics courtesy of Abby.

The dolphin came up right next to the boat, and flashed his best smile.  The kids (and Andrew) were going crazy.  I kept reminding them that this isn't Sea World and not to get their hands too close - I was seriously a little nervous!  For the next fifteen minutes, "Moochie" swam around and under our boat, popping up every few minutes to smile.  It was incredible. 

Finally, Moochie got bored with us and swam off to find another boat.  It didn't matter though - we were satisfied.  It was the perfect way for us to end an amazing day and it was time to go home.  It was such a highlight of our trip.  We felt so spoiled by Jeff and Allyson and we were so grateful for their hospitality.  

I think my kids my summed it up best in the thank-you cards they wrote to Allyson and Jeff.

I love the line, "I loved doing that with you because I had never experienced the mist in my face and the wind in my hair."

I love the line, "I never tried tuna fish and lettuce but it is nice to try new things."

We'll never forget riding on the boat or finding "Moochie."  It was such an unexpected bonus of going to Florida and a highlight to a fantastic trip.  Thanks Allyson and Jeff for an absolutely unforgettable day.

How to Celebrate a January Birthday...

Last week I celebrated my birthday.  And, it was a big one.  And, it was in January.

Could it be more depressing?

Luckily for me, it was the furthest thing from depressing.  In fact, it was pretty close to heaven.  You see, I got to spend my birthday here and it was warm and sunny and glorious.

Siesta Key Beach, Florida

I started off my birthday with an early morning walk along the beach with my good friends, Brandon Flowers and Taylor Swift.  I looked for beautiful seashells and felt the soft, white sand between my toes. (Which, by the way, is the most amazing feeling a person can have in the middle of January.)  I walked a long way and thought about the past ten years - and contemplated the next ten years - and felt pretty good about all of it.  It was a perfect way to start off my birthday.

When I got back to our condo, I was greeted by my six favorite people who had been hard at work to surprise me.  They had decorated the whole condo with streamers and balloons and they were so excited to wish me a Happy Birthday and to blow their party horns for the next hour and a half.

Andrew didn't make it into the picture - but he's included in "my favorite people."

I spent my day on a lounge chair enjoying things I love - namely, my family, the beach, blue skies, sunshine, and Diet Coke.

Can't have a January birthday without a snowman.  We called this one, "Sno Rida."

Andrew and Isaac

It doesn't get better than this...

My birthday ended with a family dinner, a dessert sampler (that was devoured in about 45 seconds),

And an incredible sunset we watched from our balcony.

I ended the day much the way I started it; feeling so blessed. by people and goodness in my life.  It was the perfect way to go from one decade to the next.  And I hope that this new decade will bring as much joy as the last one.

And when we got home from our trip, I found perched high in our 60-foot pine tree, Andrew's tribute to my birthday.  Lucky for our neighbors, they got to enjoy this beautiful site, the whole time we were gone.  At least there isn't any doubt in anyone's mind just how old I am.

And that's how you do a January birthday!

More Highlights from Fall Break

Our first night in Cali, we got to go to dinner with our dear friends Mark and Steph.  It's always so fun to be with them - in Utah, California or even Hawaii.

Cute Aunt/Sister Laura, who just moved to the OC, met us at Disneyland one day.  

Lucky for me, she loves Splash Mountain as much as I do so we rode it repeatedly - even after my kids whimped out.  

It was a blast having her there.

Abby discovered that she can rock a fascinator 

and realized she should have been invited to the Royal Wedding.

Peter found out what it feels like to be a Lego guy.

Isaac found inspiration for his next Lego project.

Peter discovered that he rocks 3-D glasses 

(and wasn't happy when he had to give them back - all three pairs.) 

On our last day there, we took the kids to Little Corona del Mar Beach (a great recommendation from Steph.)  It was a little overcast while we were there but the kids loved exploring the tide pools and learning more about marine life from a "Tidepool Ranger."

All in all, it was such a great vacation.  Can't wait to do it again.

Zippity Doo Dah....

This year for fall break, we made a last-minute trip to Disneyland.  A few weeks before the break, I started getting an itch to take the kids to the "Happiest Place on Earth," but it wasn't until a week before, that we made the final decision.

We've never been a "Disneyland family".  All our trips to California involve the beach house and the beach and that's about all we've ever needed.  In fact, the last time we went to Disneyland, was when we were visiting California from Minnesota.  It was the day before Henry's first birthday, Isaac had just turned three, and Abby was a few months away from her fifth birthday.  Our kids were babies and they were either too short or too scared to go on most the rides.

"We'll come back when our kids are older," we promised. I just never thought it would take over five years and two more kids before we made it back.

Anyway, after much debate, we ended up spending two days at Disneyland and one day at California Adventure with a few days off in between.  I have often been skeptical of the hype Disneyland receives, but after this past trip, I am a fan.  It didn't hurt when Abby, at the end of our first day, looked around with a dreamy expression on her face and said, "This place really is magical."  Cue the music and the fireworks.

The kids were so excited that as soon as we got out of the car, they started sprinting to the tram. 

This was a long dreamed-of event.

Peter got a little bored while we were waiting to get into the park,  so he just dropped to the ground and started doing push-ups.  Just part of his pre-Disneyland fitness regimen. 

The requisite castle shot.

Luckily, none of the kids cared about standing in lines to meet the princesses or villains or even Mickey himself.  They didn't really care about standing in line to trick-or-treat from the Disney employees.  We were there for one reason and one reason only: to go on rides.

The tea cups are always a hit - at least for those who have a stronger stomach than mine.

The three oldest taking advantage of no lines at Indiana Jones.

 

Two astronauts ready for take-off.

The carousel was a huge hit with the younger crowd.  

Lucy, refusing to get off, had to have her fingers pried from the horse every time.

Our kids were really brave about going on rides.  It took a few pep talks before we went and even while we were there, but they all tried the scary rides.  In the end, this is how the rides were rated:

Winners: 

Abby - Matterhorn, Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Space Mountain

Isaac: Matterhorn, Thunder Mountain Railroad and Space Mountain

Henry: Matterhorn, Thunder Mountain Railroad and Space Mountain

(there seems to be a theme here.)

Peter: Matterhorn (The Snow Monster "didn't scare me one bit!")

Lucy: carousel, Small World and Dumbo

As for me, my favorite ride of all time is Splash Mountain.  I love that ride and would have been more than willing to go on it 100 times in a row.  It was a little much for the kids, but I LOVED it.

Loser:

The unanimous loser in the ride category was "Captain EO" starring Michael Jackson.

Seriously, I get that this was cutting edge technology when it was first made, 

but it is so painful to watch now. We were all bitter that we spent 25 minutes of our life watching this.  

(Hey Disneyland, it's time to retire the Captain.)

This trip was the first time any of us had been to California Adventure and it was pretty dang fun too.  While Disneyland has the corner on the market in "cuteness," California Adventure has some pretty fun rides and lots to see and do.

We loved the view from the top of the Ferris Wheel.

We loved the "Bug's Life" movie.  So funny - the movie and Peter's dance moves.

We loved the "World of Color" show at the end of the night.

And Peter loved the ginormous turkey legs they sell there. (Gag.)

In fact, during the three long and exhausting days we had at the parks, the only meltdown from any of our kids occurred when someone (who shall remain nameless - mostly because I can't remember who it was) took the turkey leg from Peter.

Fortunately, for  the people around us, the turkey leg was quickly returned and harmony was restored to the park.

Anyway, it was such a fun trip.  Andrew was the master of the fast pass and made sure we maximized our time in each park.  We all gained a new appreciation for corn dogs.  We felt fortunate that in the three days we were there, we only lost a child once.  (Naturally, it was Henry and it was during the fireworks when Main Street was a zoo.  Luckily we found him a short time later in the Lost Child Center where a woman, dressed like Mary Poppins, was reading him a story.  Sigh.)

We all came home big fans of Disneyland and promised ourselves that it wouldn't take another 5 1/2 years for us to get back there.

Tired kids.

Happy Family.