Monday, August 22, 2011

I Am Grateful for Friends This Summer: Part 1

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I love friends.

Last week I had the privilege of spending some quality time with my two bestest friends, Wendy & Brittany. Since I am in Connecticut and Brittany is in New Hampshire, we felt so happy that Wendy would fly all the way out here from Boise to have a little "lady" time.

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It was so kind of Brittany to host us considering she is recovering from Lyme Disease and she also has FIVE kids. But her home was as inviting and charming as ever, and she and the kids went out of their way to make us feel comfortable and at home. Thank you to Brittany's oldest girlies for giving up their CUTE and COMFY beds for us!

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Wendy brought her baby son with her and he was our little mascot. He was sweet and quick to smile and laugh. He's SO CHARMING! We love him!

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We were lucky enough to be able to spend some alone time together (thanks to her very busy Jake!). We love to just talk and reminisce about our school time together. We laughed over our 90's fashion, our good and bad decisions, the boys, the trips... We were definitely missing our 4th and (unofficial) 5th roommates, Jenna and Brooke. We LOVE you ladies and wanted to be with you, too! There will be a full Frolic Palace reunion in the future!

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One of the highlights was seeing my high school friend, Susan.

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Susan lives in NH and made a generous detour to come see us at Brittany's house. She has two DARLING little boys; I was very excited to meet them. Susan is so delightful! She is smart and interesting and she is such a cute mom (drool on the shoulder and all!). I loved seeing Susan as a mom. Life is a series of evolutions, and I was so happy to be able to catch up with Susan and see how things have evolved in a very happy way for her.

It was fun to stay up late watching movies and talking. We went to Portsmouth, NH for desserts and Maine for the outlets. Girl stuff. We shopped for books, candy, and baby clothes.

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Another highlight was being able to go to the Boston temple. It was Brittany's daughter's first temple trip and both Jake and Britt wanted to be there, so Wendy and I tagged along. How lucky to have a temple so close (comparatively speaking... when I was a youth in Boston we drove down to Washington D.C. once a year, not a bad trip, but a logistical nightmare from my adult perspective!).

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Jake was a part of the good old college days as well, and it was fun that he spent one of the nights looking at photos with us and reliving those cold, wintery Rick's days. Everyone had interesting stories that had been long forgotten and embarrassing revelations to share. No one was spared humiliation at the follies of youth. But we love each other, and those things are fun to look back on.

We ended the trip with a little trip for Brittany. She drove down to Norwalk,CT with us to visit a friend from the college days.

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We all met Ben at Ricks, and I have become good friends with his wife Sara this summer as they are living in New Canaan, CT. We enjoyed a lovely meal at their home, and it was fun to catch up with another friend from those days. Thank you for hosting us!

I love that time and place do not affect our love and affection for one another. We are not the kind of friends that call all the time or get together that often. We make an effort when we can. But I know that I can call these ladies ANY time so share good or bad news. They put up with my personality flaws and love me anyway, and I love them. When we do talk or get together, it's like no time has passed, our friendship is suspended in time.

We have definitely changed over the years. We are (thankfully) not the same people we were when we knew each other in high school and college. It's fun to see growth and progress and happiness in each of our lives. I am so glad that these ladies have made choices that have led them to happiness. They are such good people! How did I get so lucky? I feel so happy that I can call these ladies sisters... or sister-wives as both Jake and Todd joked (I don't love them THAT much).

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I love you ladies! When's the next get-together?

5 comments:

SP said...

Portsmouth NH is only 1 1/2 hours away from us in Hanover NH. We are going to Boston for our temple trip this Saturday! If you want another NH trip, you are welcome to come our way. We'd love it, but no pressure of course.

Wendy said...

I look so gigantic in every pic. Especially the one in Britt's kitchen.

LOVED being with you and Britt! So. much. fun. I love you friend!

mo said...

Friends like those two are rare and I am glad you all make the effort to be together when you can! Lovely times!

Unknown said...

Oh, CAOR, how I love and adore you. LOVE.

Suzie Petunia said...

Wendy and Brittany look just like they did in college! You ladies look so pretty and happy. I love your friends, too. Friends like that are the best. I am so happy you have had such a fun summer, Carrie. You just look beautiful and happy and I love it.