Summer Highlight

I've totally procrastinated on this post...probably because blogging about it finalizes that it really has come and gone and that was entirely too quick! 

I got a call from my good friend, Laura, whom we met while taking a birthing class in Hawaii.  Our oldest daughters are 2 weeks apart and I spent my stay at home days in Hawaii hanging with this crazy, fun, loving, hilarious lady.  The conversation went like this:
Laura:  "I want to talk to you about something.:
Me:  "You're pregnant!!!"
Laura:  "No.  I want to talk to you about summer plans, but I don't want you to get your hopes up as nothing is set in stone."
Me:  "Too late, hopes are up.  What's going on?"
Laura:  I'm thinking of taking 5 weeks this summer and traveling with the girls.  Idaho is on my list of stops for one week."
Me:  Tears.

They are currently residing in China for Chris' job at Disney, so this was BIG news.  I last saw her when we met up in January 2013 to hit Disneyland together.  I wasn't sure when I would see her next, and these plans hit me out of nowhere.  I couldn't grasp the thought of someone wanting to travel to Idaho (by themselves with two toddlers on a 16+ hour flight) just to see me and my family.  Sadly, Chris stayed behind to work but I'm confident we'll get him in our Idaho mountains soon enough.

Reunited and it feels so good.  They each grabbed hands and took off through the airport.

She is refreshingly laid back, which makes me look even more super hyperactive and planner OCDish than I already am.  She deals with it well and her only request was that I take her camping while on this trip as she had never been camping before.  NEVER.  She's an east coast girl, so I was more than excited to show her our great outdoors...especially since I boasted about them all the time.  We went to Silver Creek and spent the days in the creek and the morning and evening in the hot springs, and entirely too many s'mores at night.  She couldn't get over the blue skies and the freedom to take in large gulps of fresh air.

First time s'more cooking going on here. 

A proper introduction for Indigo and Helaina to S'more eating.  They are hooked.

Indigo is 4 months older than Simone, and shares the same birthday as Sydney...New Years Day.

Nature Painting.  Sydney and Indigo.

Helaina

Indigo painted herself.

Simone always paints herself...although she had a good run on the paper first.

 

We also hit Menchies, which just felt like old times.  Menchies was the only self-serve ice cream place that we knew in Hawaii and we equally loved it, so we frequented it entirely too much.  When I see the Menchies sign it throws me back to a warm sunny Hawaiian day.  We used to go with our girls and give them mashed bananas and plain yogurt so they wouldn't feel left out.  We can't do that anymore!  We picked blueberries, hit the water park, the swimming pool, hung out at home, ate at Westside Drive In and more. 

Robby let them "push" him into the pool.  Big hit...giggles abundant and that will make any heart warmer.

We all fit in one vehicle!  Yay for vans!!!

Blueberry Picking

Lessons on which ones to pick...and an awesome shot of Laura's hair which I LOVE.

Water Park!!!

Menchies

Get it, girl!

 

And this.  Laura was super excited to walk into a grocery store that didn't have hanging pig skins or frogs splashing about.  She played "I'm gonna wreck!" with the cart.  More giggles.

Eating at Whole Foods...another must do for her!



Um, LOVE. 

When we didn't have plans, we spent hours upon hours making up for lost chit chat time...which was certainly my highlight of her trip here.  When we talk, it's a quick 5 minutes as she's 14 hours ahead of me and we've both got littles.  Having her here face to face gave me time to hear about all of her experiences living in Shanghai.  Hearing the stories first hand was so entertaining.  I have plans to go solo in September, and while I was excited to get over there to see my friend...I am now chomping at the bit to go see all of the things she describes and talks of.  We've got some amazing plans which include a girls trip to Beijing to see the Great Wall, the Forbidden Palace, along with day trips to her "tea lady" and the "wet markets"... so you can imagine my excitement!  Not only do I get to go see her- but I get to experience China with someone who actually knows what's going on!!!

The girls did as 4 year olds and 2 year olds do.  They were best friends, and they were tattling boogers, depending on the minute.  They enjoyed nightly prayers and story time together, played non-stop while awake and sang Frozen like nobody's business while in the car.  (As did Laura!)

She's the only one of my friends (or anyone for that matter) that consistently refers to me as Megs instead of Megan, and no matter how busy or crazy life is for her, she finds time to check in even if it's for five minutes just to let you know she's thinking of you.  She loves the Lord, loves her family and loves food.  When I first moved home, I spent a lot of time saying that I needed to find my "Idaho Laura" because it was really hard to leave someone I'd gotten so close with during my stay in Hawaii.  She used to say- "Good luck, Megs.  There's no other Laura."  It took me awhile to realize that people don't need replacing, especially when they aren't going anywhere.  Love you, lady!  See you real soon!!!