I Just Call it "See you later"

For some reason, I just have a terrible time with good-byes. I don't like them at all. In fact, I try to avoid them at all costs....and I will always spring for a "see you later" rather than a "good-bye".

The "see you later" I am facing now is a very tough one...so tough that it has kept me up at night and been almost constantly on my mind since I found out about it.

You see, one of my dearest friends, is headed on a new journey and will be moving to a new city in a new state tomorrow. The time has come for me to say "see you later" to Kim and the entire Garner family....and I am having such a hard time doing it! Even as I sit here writing, a lump is coming to my throat and the tears are flowing. How do you say "see you later" to someone who has had a huge impact on your life and your kids' lives, who has been so much a part of so much of our experience here in Iowa? Well, it isn't easy that 's for sure.

We have so many memories...I remember the day we first met at church (6 years ago!)- Kim just seemed so put together...I immediately thought, this girl is going to be my friend. I want to get to know her!!! I could never have guessed the kind of friend I was gaining. A hundred times more amazing than I could have imagined.

We have shared so many birthdays and holidays- cafe rio for Christmas dinner, pumpkin carving for Halloween, Easter feasts, 4th of July picnics...there haven't been too many birthday celebrations that didn't include some members of the families.

Our girls have been school buddies and playmates, often the only members of the church among their friends. They have played on sports teams, attended church together, spent lazy summer days hanging out together and been in girl scouts.

We have helped each other with babysitting, carpools, recipes...been each other's listening ear for grumpy husbands, financial stresses and day to day living!!!! She has been there so many times for me when I just needed someone...she knows me, she knows my family, she knows my kids. She has seen me at my very best and at my very worst. She took care of my kids when I had Regan and when I had Cole...she was my go to girl when I had to call someone to come in the middle of the night...I always joked with her that I was comfortable calling her as she is a bit of a night owl anyway! She took care of my house when we lived in Texas...and welcomed me back to Iowa when we returned.

I often think that a true friend is someone who makes you better (incidentally "our song" is For Good from Wicked)...and boy, has that been true of our friendship. Kim is so talented in every way....she has inspired me to get creative, to get organized, to read more, to do fun activities with my kids, to learn and try new things, to make things beautiful, to document memories...and just to enjoy life. There have been many times when she has remembered me with a "little something"- most recently a little goodie bag when I ran my first half marathon...and just to be thought of and encouraged in that way has been priceless.

And now I must include a little bit about her kiddos...boy, I love those kids so much and have always felt so attached and close to them. With both of us not having family close by, we have been each other's family. Our kids are really more like cousins than just friends. I have been able to teach Christian piano for the past 5 years- what a treat to get to know him. I seriously adore that kid and wouldn't mind having him as a future son-in-law (wink, wink). He has really got his stuff together- smart, confident, polite and funny! Then there is Syd, who has been Ashton's buddy since they were 4 years old. As Ashton has been somewhat prone to be a little serious and worried about life, Syd can always bring a smile to her face!!! She makes me laugh out loud and is such an original in every way. She is going to go on to do big things, and I will get to say I knew her way back when. Finally, Ella who has been such a good friend to Jordan and to Regan. In the past years, it has literally been a fight at our house for who gets to play with Ella. I love that little girl- so full of life, full of hugs and full of the best questions. She would always ask me when I was pregnant, "How did that baby get in your tummy?" And I'd always say, "Go ask your mom!" It wouldn't be fair to not include a shout out to Craig...my husband doesn't have many people he considers true friends...he has a friend in Craig. That is no small thing for Snarr.

And so Kim, I guess I have no choice, but to say "see you later"...I don't like it...but I'll do it...I know you are going to do great wherever you go, because of the person that you are! For now I'm going to let myself shed a tear when I pass by the turn-off to your house, when I drive by Tantra, when I listen to the Wicked soundtrack, when I take Cole to nursery and you're not there, when I eat anything pumpkin. But mostly, I'm just going to be thankful...thankful that our paths crossed...thankful that we got to take this ride together...and thankful that I know our friendship can survive this new twist. Looking forward to many more good times and good chats...just for now, it's "see you later, my friend." Love you always. I have definitely been "changed for good."

Day dreaming

I'm finding myself day dreaming of where I was last year at this time...we had our first snow here this week....hope to go back there some day!

While You Were Gone....Halloween Edition

So Snarr took off on his trip to Asia just in time to miss all the Halloween festivities. I know he was crushed. Ha ha. You see, I LOVE Halloween...and Tod, well he just tolerates it. But to be fair, he is always a good sport and a lot of help with all the activities, and we really missed him this year. I wanted to give him a little rundown of some of the fun things we got to do to celebrate one of my favorite holidays.

Earlier in the week, Regan got to dress up for dance class:

Then on Friday, there were all kinds of events. My favorite was that Jordan's class went and sang Halloween songs at the care center next to the school.

That night, we all headed to the Trunk or Treat at the church. It's a good thing I took some quick pictures of Cole before we left, because that was about the only time he wore his costume. He did like his hat (or his "helmet" as he calls it), but claimed the bandana and vest were "choking" him. So basically, he was a little boy with cowboy boots. The girls looked so cute in their pioneer costumes. Apparently, they were Laura, Mary and Carrie from the Little House series we have been reading. Thanks Grandma Cindy, for your amazing sewing skills and dedication to my crazy costume ideas.





Saturday evening found us carving pumpkins together. Knowing that this can be a rather overwhelming task with 2 parents, I opted to carve in shifts- first working with Cole and Regan while the big girls played Wii and then letting the big girls have a turn. It was actually one of our more pleasant jack-o-lantern experiences. I love the different faces everyone came up with.









We were also able to squeeze in some neighborhood trick-or-treating. We love our neighborhood and our neighbors!! We missed the ones who weren't around this year...you know who you are!! It was such a fun night to wander the streets chatting with friends and gathering yummy treats!



Monday was actual Halloween, and to be honest, I was kind of done with the whole thing by then! The kids were out of school, so we took advantage of the beautiful weather and spent the day at a park with friends. That night I made our traditional spooky Halloween menu. I have such fond memories of this growing up. This year we added in a special twist. While I was busily cooking, I let Regan mix up her own surprise. She added a little bit of lots of different things and came up with something positively disgusting. When it was dinner time, we called the girls and put Regan's "surprise" on the table and told them it was dinner. They didn't know what to think and we had some good laughs. Needless to say, they were glad to see the pot of homemade chicken noodle soup and bread that made up our actual meal!







We finished the night with Family Home Evening and Halloween Bingo!

So there you have it, our Halloween of 2011. It was a good one. I thoroughly enjoyed all of our festivities, but we missed our daddy-o so much! Next year, no trips over Halloween!

A Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Any opportunity to be with one of my children alone is not something to be missed! This year, Regan and I got to go with her preschool class to the pumpkin patch...and the best part, we got to ride on the bus together!!! Regan is such a cutie...and she is really such a sweet good girl (most of the time!) She loves to giggle and chat and is just a good sport when it comes to just about anything. I do feel like sometimes she's "lost in the crowd" at our house, so it was so great to just have some time with her. We had a blast on the hayride and loved picking out pumpkins together. It was a super day!

A Friday Morning at Our House

I took these pictures on a Friday morning a couple of weeks ago. Life right now is so crazy, busy, loud....and FUN. I love it and I try to soak in every moment knowing that time goes too fast!

Ashton (age 9), ready to boogie at the after school 4th/5th grade dance:

Jordan (age 7), sporting her Brownie vest for her Girl Scout troop meeting:Regan (age 5), looking sharp for her preschool field trip to the pumpkin patch:
Cole (age 2), ready to be cute and maybe get into some mischief:

A "Wicked" Good Time

Ever since I say the muscial "Wicked" last March in Texas, I have been a little obsessed with it. I introduced the CD to the girls and it became all that we listened to on our Sunday drive to and from church. They quickly had all of the songs memorized. So I was so surprised when a few months ago, a friend mentioned that it was coming to Peoria! I knew that we had to go! The girls were soooooooo excited and talked about it for weeks. They told everyone where they were going and could barely contain themselves. After arranging babysitting and carpools and re-arranging piano lessons, our day finally arrived! I picked the ladies up from school and we headed to our Thursday matinee of "Wicked"! What a rare treat to be with my 2 older girls. They are such amazing gals who don't always get my attention in the way they should. We had so much fun. Yes, I did get lost on the way there, but we had allowed plenty of time, so we made it. We played all kinds of guessing games on the car ride and Jordan took pictures of the scenery.



The musical itself was incredible, spell binding, breath taking. The girls were on the edge of their seats the entire time. And I enjoyed it just as much the second time through (I did miss my sisters!) We talked about the play the entire ride home. Of course, getting a Happy Meal at McDonald's was a highlight, too.

What a day! Definitely, one I will remember for a very long time. So glad we had the opportunity to go together.

Fall Soccer

This time of year is one of my favorites. It is just so beautiful. Lately, as I drive down the street, I find myself really gazing at all the trees and the gorgeous leaves...just trying to soak it all in to sustain me through the winter. One of my favorite things about autumn is fall soccer for the girls. I look forward to it all year. I love how the soccer complex here is literally cut into a bunch of corn fields, so as we watch the games on Saturday mornings, we are surrounded by the corn and signs of harvest. For some reason, I just love it so much.
Here is Jordan getting her kicks on:


And some of Ashton:


So I'll admit it, I've always been competitive when it comes to sports and so is Tod. Our poor kids. Sometimes I think we take our "encouragement" a little too far because we seem to expect a lot out of them with regards to their playing ability. But they are such good sports about it, and both Ashton and Jordan have come so far...and are really progressing into great little soccer players. I am so proud of them! I'm glad that they are healthy, that they can run, fall down, get back up again, sweat, giggle with their friends, push themselves, celebrate when they score, and roll their eyes at the sidelines when mama gets too loud! These girls are also lucky to have a dad who puts in the time to coach their teams.



One of the other fun things about soccer season is the chance to hang out with friends...it is so fun just to visit and chat. Sometimes when we are waiting for another child's game to start, we wander over to another game to cheer on a church friend, school buddy or neighbor. There is just a great community feel. We love soccer season!



(I wrote this post a couple of weeks ago. Now, soccer season has ended. As you can see from the pictures, some of them were taken at the beginning of the season- warm, sunny weather and shorts- while some were taken at the last chilly game!)

And if you had any doubt that it's flat here and the sky is the biggest you'll ever see...here is proof!!! I still miss the mountains but have grown to LOVE the wide open spaces. Simply gorgeous.