Refreshing Weekend

The most difficult thing about moving from Athens was leaving our close friends behind. There were several families that we were really close to, but we would probably consider Derek and Elise our best friends. They have 2 kids, Aleah and Reed. Aleah is 3 and Reed is 8 months just like Jack. This weekend they decided to make the trek up from AL to the big city in Indianapolis. We were so excited about their visit. We even got our guest room painted for them (we finished the night before they arrived). It was great having them here. Friday night we went to a high school football game in Carmel to watch one of our teenagers in the band. Now, this is not just any band. It's one of the top 5 bands in the country. Rachel's family was tailgating before the game so they included us in that. It was a blast. Jack enjoyed his first football game so much. He was starting to get a little tired right before half-time, but as soon as the band started his eyes were glued to watching them. They did such a good job. I was very impressed. The unfortunate thing about the weekend was that we were hoping for a nice fall weekend, but the weather was VERY VERY hot. We told Derek and Elise that they brought the hotness with them from Alabama. So, it felt more like we were at a football game in the middle of August. Oh well.

Saturday morning Derek and Chris hung out with the kids while Elise and I went to our neighborhood's community yard sale. Basically, almost every house was having a yard sale. It was great! I got some shoes and books for Jack and a white noise machine for his room and only spent a total of $6. Plus, we got our exercise walking around! Then our Saturday afternoon trip to the zoo turned into a zoo at the Kirby's house instead. It was just too hot to go walk around and look at stinky animals. So, we just stayed around here and played and then ventured downtown Saturday evening to the Circle Centre Mall for dinner. This isn't just any mall. It's in a bunch of restored old buildings downtown. Pretty cool atmosphere. The kids favorite event of the weekend was bath time because they all got to take a bath together in our big tub. However, since Aleah and Reed are not my children.......I won't be posting incriminating pictures of them on the internet. Sorry, but just take my word for it - the bath pictures are SO cute!

Sunday was church and then lunch at our house with Derek and Elise and my brother Brian and Kym and all 5 of the kids. We grilled out. It was so much fun especially to watch my niece play with Aleah. They had a blast. We finished off the weekend Sunday night with a Colts watching party with the teenagers at one of our families homes. We were so sad to see Derek and Elise leave this morning. But, it is always so refreshing to spend time with such amazing friends. We feel so blessed by God to have them in our lives.