Friends Reunited

Friends reunited...Zoe, Mairead, Lily & Lilah

The Fam Damily

Having a husband in the Coast Guard requires us to move every 3-4 years. It can be tough, especially when you form close relationships with friends! When we had Mairead and lived in Fairfax, I was lucky enough to meet some wonderful ladies who had girls the same age as Mairead. We did everything together, and I was am thankful for their friendship. We shared lots of laughs together - we helped keep our insanity at a minimum!

Moving from Virginia was bittersweet. We were sad to be leaving good friends, but we were also excited to live closer to family. Thankfully, one of our close friends (Christina) from Virginia had family in New Hampshire. They travel to New Hampshire for a few weeks every summer to visit, so thankfully, we've been able to see each other every year since we moved. It's been great for the girls to stay in touch. Since Mairead was just two when we moved, her memories are few and far between of Virginia, so this is great for her.

Lilah poses for a quick photo

"Wait a minute, Lilah!"

This year, Mairead really remembered seeing Lily & Eaton last year, so she was really excited to see her friends. Not only did we get to see Christina & family, but we also got to see Jacie and her family, too! They also came up for a few days with Christina, so it was like one big reunion. Christina & Jacie are still very close friends in Virginia. Their girls are the same age as Mairead, and then they each had a boy right around the time we moved from Virginia, who are now 2.

Jacie and Zoe

Mairead jumps in!

On Tuesday, we packed up the car, the kids, the dogs and of course some adult beverages and headed for a two hour car ride to Western New Hampshire. The girls were ecstatic! Mairead must have asked a gazillion times when we were going to be there! When we got there, the girls started playing immediately. They were so cute together. It's amazing how much they've changed in a year. I couldn't help but think of when we first met. The girls were about 8 months old. I met them at a baby yoga class...how things have changed. This year, there were 7 kids, all 4 and under. Five girls. Two boys. Three dogs.

From left (Zoe, Lily, Mairead & Lilah)

We celebrated Marshall (Christina's husband) and Jacie's birthday. Had some awesome food, lots of great drinks and tons of laughs! We attempted to let the kids have a "camp-out" in one of the bedrooms, they lasted...ummmmmmm about 5 minutes, until two of the girls started crying. That was the end of that. We brought all the kids upstairs along with their pillows and blankets and let them camp out there. That lasted about 10 minutes. It was late and the girls couldn't hang any longer. Little by little, each girl ended up in their mommy and daddy's bed. Maybe next year they'll be ready! It was cute while it lasted!

The next day, Mairead & Lilah were up at 630am. Yes. 630am. That is like an hour and a half earlier than usual, I knew it would be a long day for them! Thankfully, Christina's kids were up, so they had fun! Once everyone was up, we headed down to the lake. The girls had a blast together! They swam and swam and swam some more. They played in the paddle boats, kayaks and practiced jumping in. We stayed at the water until about 3pm when we headed back to the house to say our good-byes.

Lilah

Clara shows off her new moves!

Eaton, Lilah & Mairead looking at their new frog :)

Zoe, Lily & Mairead say 'Good-Bye"

The girls hugged and hugged some more. It was so great to get our girls together again (and the rest of our kiddos). I am so glad to have been able to keep in touch with our friends. We're up for transfer next spring (2011) and maybe we'll end up back in Virginia again. If so, it would be an easy transfer for us since we already have friends for us and our girls.

The "crew" minus Clara - Quinten, Zoe, Mairead, Lily, Lilah & Eaton

The crew getting rowdy - obviously tired of our photo session!