We drove up to Phoenix one day to visit with our friends, the M family. Their oldest two kids are 9 months younger than our kiddos. And, my Jenna is sort of named after their oldest daughter. The mom and I would talk about our kids playing and one day I said "Rylee and Jenna; that just goes together so well." After my friend said it was okay with her, I decided I really wanted that name to be in the hat in case one of the twins was a girl. I had loved the name for years, so it was perfect. And, when I finally got to hold my Jenna for the first time, I knew she was a Jenna, not a Sydney.
The kids were having a blast playing with each other. They really hit it off right away. I talk about the M family's kids regularly and they met them when we were in Arizona 3 years ago. They decided to roll over the legs of one another and were cracking up.
It was all fun and games until Asa got hurt. That's what happens!
While in Phoenix, we also stopped by to see my college roommate and her family. J and I were in school at Northern Arizona together for one year...living in a dorm as older students. God was good when He matched us together. We both got engaged in the fall of that school year and then got married the next summer/fall. Our kids enjoyed meeting one another and playing. It was good to catch up on life.
My kids were enjoying all the beautiful 80 degree days and the swingsets at each home!
We spent lots of hours in the car. Between the long drive from Texas to Arizona and back, the daily commute from my mom's house into town (about 30 minutes each way), and then a day trip up to Phoenix and back, my kids sat in these carseats quite a bit. Jenna is obsessed with Dora. Loves her. Tells us so almost every day. So, we got her this cute little doll. I think she likes it.
One afternoon we stopped over to visit with more friends in Yuma that have kiddos the same ages as mine. Rylee is posing with Karis, who she first met as a baby and then 3 years ago.The kids alternated between playing inside and outside. Jenna figured out how to swing herself this afternoon! She was literally yelling with excitement, so I grabbed my camera fast and clicked a pic. This was Wednesday and you can best believe she made a beeline for any swing she saw for the rest of the trip. She was one proud preschooler!
We took the kids to climb one of the mountains near Mom's house. It was a little windy, but they were excited. As soon as we hit the first peak and the wind bolted us in the face, they all begged to go back down. But, first I took a snapshot of the mountains on the other side and some kind of rock quary.
We spent one evening with the Mellons, very dear friends of ours. They have supported me in my pursuit of following God's call on my life for over a decade--from college to youth ministry to missionary. They invited all their kids and grandkids out to their place to have dinner and fellowship with us. Wonderful conversation and delicious food!
Pastor Chuck and Mary had us over for lunch. We always have such a great time with them. They are so relaxed and welcoming and have always treated us like family. They go out of their way to take care of us and support our family. Before we left that day, their oldest daughter let each of my kids have a shamrock cookie she made for St. Patrick's Day.
Andrew, Anne, and their sweet daughter were also part of that lunch. Anne's is the middle daughter and was in Joel's youth group when he served at Calvary. It's fun to watch their young family as it grows--another addition soon to come!
And, Sunday afternoon we stopped by to say hi to Grandma White. My mom spends time with Grandma White regularly and enjoys it so much. She is my friend Erin's grandmother. My kids took right to her as soon as they heard she was L and S's grandma too (those are the other kids who drove with us from Texas to Arizona and back)!
Please bring Jenna over and ask her to teach Chickie to swing herself. :)
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