Long Island

We have these friends. They were our neighbors at seminary. Hours after we moved in they stopped by (with a tiny, 2 month old in tow) and introduced themselves. Years later they are some of our most treasured friends. EVERY summer since that very first, we have arranged a get-together. Last year, it was only an afternoon...shared with other people. But we got the group picture that proved we were together, and it counts! Since Lucas was getting sent to Boston for a seminar, and we knew we were so closed to our dear friends, we used the opportunity to make another summer happen!

There is not enough space to recount all of the memories, stories, jokes that I want to record to remember forever, but here are the bullet points (because I had to edit or it would have been too tedious for you all to read!)

One of the big events was a trip on their boat to go fishing in the Sound!

Bonus points for JJ who stuck with the fishing longer than anyone (except maybe his dad)!

Allie liked to stay close to the bucket to watch all the fish we had caught.

Ry-guy and LJ preferred the cabin.

For the record, we caught a lot of fish (16 maybe? My memory is already foggy). Porgies (sp?). Part of the tradition has been catching one of our meals. These fish became delicious fish tacos that evening!

Our incredible friends agreed to stay home with all of the kids so Lucas and I could have a night out! We went into the city, had a fabulous dinner, walked around the city, and then saw Wicked (if I had a bucket list, seeing this show would have been on it). There was some poignancy to the evening as the train ride in took us by the hospital that was my home for almost 2 weeks. It was in that hospital bed that I read the book Wicked. 2 1/2 years later I got to see the show (and have a bit of the "babymoon" that I never got)!!

I tried about 10 times and only got our foreheads. Lucas tries once and gets it perfect. And yes, it was humid. Thus the hair...

The most recent addition to our group is sweet KJ. No picture I had did justice to her adorable face. Such a sweet disposition! We LOVE her!

They have a great playground area outside their house. Ryan was in love with the playhouse. Allie preferred the car.

Picnics.

Baby KJ wanting so desperately to play with the "big kid" toys (a Potato Head)

A magical moment. All 5 kids together and still!!

Minus 1, but I still love the 4 of them all reading together while they waited for dinner to be ready.

We also made a few trips to the local pool (with the most fabulous baby pool - or "baby lake" as Ryan called it), the guys did their own fishing trip, the girls spent a morning out (running and swimming), played a truly enjoyable game of Quelf, went out to dinner (just the grown ups), and thoroughly treasured every moment with these dear friends!

And the group shot! Look back Here, here, here, and here to see us through the years!

This is an outtake, but I love it. My cheesy smile, Kim not looking, Ry-guy looks somber, Allie looks mad, and the other 2 being silly.

The best of the bunch!

Thanks to our friends for a fabulous week! Looking forward to next year - let's keep the streak alive!!