Gold!

Last week, while my two oldest boys were at scout camp, I took my four younger boys to Orange County to pay a visit to my best friend from high school, Alicia. We try to make it a point to escape the desert heat each summer and visit them for a few days. Alicia has 5 kids, and is every bit as busy as I am, so if we can find 2 days in our busy schedule all summer that will work for us, we make it happen. This summer the only day we could work it was when my two oldest were at camp, and her daughter was at EFY and her twins were also at scout camp. She has 1 girl and 4 boys, which means that when we usually get together there are 10 boys plus one lonely girl hanging around us. Our kids all get along so well and it is always a fun and crazy visit. This time it seemed so quiet and easy with only 6 boys between us!

On the first day we went to Newport Beach and had so much fun. The boys had a blast playing in the waves and on the sand.

The boys convinced us to let them go and explore some rocks and caves where they found some bats...

and some hermit crabs and other little creatures.

While the kids played, Alicia and I just talked and talked about EVERYTHING - parenting, callings, books, plans and memories. That is always the best part of our visits. Talking.

It is amazing because we are so different in so many ways (just look at her - petite, fit, dark - and me - gargantuan, flabby, white. Different.) She is a runner. I am a swimmer. She is the eternally optimistic, patient, uber-cheerful type, and I am, well..., not.

But when it comes to our thinking and our philosophies about life we are right there together. She has a wonderful family and I was inspired by lots of the things that she does with her family, such as how they handle FHE and chores. I came home excited about implementing some fresh ideas that she inspired. Friends like Alicia are such a support to me!!!

The next day we all just hung around and played. Later we all went for a walk (you can do that in Orange County in August - go outdoors.) Luke insisted on riding my friend's son's bike with training wheels, but wasn't very good at it and eventually gave up all together which meant Alicia and I had to take turns pushing him along the whole time which made the short walk much, much longer.

My boys favorite part are the dry storm channels under a nearby street. They love to explore them, and there always seems to be a stray grocery cart there to play with and tumble down the steep concrete banks.

Then we decided to take a trail through some pretty woods eventually to a nice wooded park where the kids played some more and we talked some more before saying our goodbyes.

Before we left Alicia showed me the padded picture frame that I made her where we graduated from high school and went out separate ways (yep, it was way back in 1990 - padded frames with lace were so cool back then.) It had a poem that I had written for her and pictures of us at prom and girls camp. She still displays it on her bookshelf in her bedroom. I was so touched by that! It was so fun to see those pictures again and remember those times again. We have both come so far since then, but we are also exactly where we wanted to be back then - married to wonderful husbands, raising wonderful children, serving the Lord valiantly, and still as close as friends as ever. What a joy!

I am so grateful for the dear friends in my life! Its like the song says: "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver, the other is gold."