Neighbors

Do you remember what it was like to be a kid in the summertime?  

I do.

Did you play outside from sun up to sun down?  

I did.

Did you go to sleep every night exhausted and a bit salty from being sweaty all day, yet happy and excited to start all over again the next day?  

I did.

I have GREAT memories of my childhood summers.  

Picnic lunches in the shade at the church, running through the sprinklers and then laying on the hot cement to warm up, popsicles,  riding my bike to Holiday Oil for "peach punch" and FunYuns, waiting for my best friend Heather to pull her daily quota of weeds before we could play Barbies, playing hide-and-seek and flashlight tag in the dark, drive-in movies, watching for our yard light to come on so I knew it was time to go in, sleepovers, playing, playing, and more playing!

It is my goal now to give my son just as many sweet memories of his summers as a child. 

In this day and age, it seems rare, if not impossible, for our kids to enjoy the same freedoms and experiences we enjoyed when we were kids. We have to keep a closer eye on them, and sadly, most people don't know their own neighbors well enough to let their children play in their homes.

Not so in my case.  

We, unknowingly but thankfully, moved into the best neighborhood in the world a few years back.   

We have the most wonderful neighbors!  

I am so grateful for them and for the friendships we have built.  Both Mike and I "clicked" right away with our neighbors immediately surrounding us, and as we have met more and more of our extended neighbors, we are reminded of how lucky we are and what an amazing community we have found ourselves in.  I, myself, haven't had close adult friends like them before, and I cherish having them in our lives.  I know that I can count on them and they will always be there for me.  I love you guys!!

I didn't realize that being a stay at home Mom in my neighborhood would be as wonderful either.  For the first couple of years that we lived here, I worked full time and didn't know how much these Moms around me were supporting each other.  Now that I am one of them, I know how blessed I am to have these women to lean on for help, support, or the occasional girls night out! 

I know that in this neighborhood, my son will be able to build memories just as sweet as I remember from my own childhood.  That is a peace and joy that I treasure, and I am so grateful for it. 

As neighbors, we do a lot of fun things together, such as dessert and game night at our neighborhood park, splash parks and swimming dates, movie nights, and murder mystery parties.

It is not uncommon to walk down our street on any given evening to find us all outside playing ball, having dinner together, or just sitting around drinking Shanae's fabulous virgin pina coladas and laughing our heads off while our kids run around and zoom past us on their bikes and scooters. One can often find us going to sporting events, restaurants, or various other fun places together.

And we can always count on somebody to watch Ian for us in a pinch.  Have I mentioned yet that we love you guys?!?!?

On our outings and adventures, one of us usually always has a camera ready, so here are a few pictures of some of the fun things we do together.

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We recently had a "canyon night" where we all met up the canyon after work and cooked tinfoil dinners and s'mores.  It was really hot in the valley, so the weather was wonderful, but the company...well, that just couldn't be beat!

(Doesn't hubs look absolutely thrilled to be getting the love?=)

One night in July, we met in one of our neighbors yards for takeout dinner and some more fireworks.

The weekend before Mike's marathon, we went up to our family cabin with several of our neighbors and their kids.  It was SO much fun!!  We laughed really hard, ate way too much yummy food, stayed up late playing games, saw lots of wildlife, and really enjoyed such quality time together as friends.  We are so lucky to have been blessed with such great, supportive friends!  As we were packing up to come home, we were already talking about when we could do it again!!!

Our neighbors truly are the best and we love you guys!  Thanks for all of the wonderful memories we have built and for all the fun that is yet to come!!