T-W-E-N-T-Y Years!!

A few short weeks ago we attended Jeff's 20 Year High School Reunion.

That's right...

TWENTY YEARS AGO he graduated from high school.

CRA-ZY!

 

I have to say that settling in the same area in which we grew up has some benefits.

We didn't have far to drive.

The reunion was held at a local hotel and

we thought, "What the heck, let's stay the night!"

(I swear, the hotel is 3 miles away!)

 

But we had friends in from out of town and we don't EVER get "party time" with Scott and Shawna, so we wanted to get as much out of our time as possible.

 

As reunions go...it, in and of itself, was ok.

I feel the need to include a bit of history here.

Please excuse the redundancy if you have known me forever...

I am 4 years behind Jeff in school, so he graduated as I entered high school.

Therefor we have...almost...no friends in common.

However...I did meet Jeff through my brother, Scott.

Scott was a really cool brother during high school ;) (either that or I was just a super cool sister)

(P.S. I have many friends who would agree to his coolness...ehh..hemm)

so he frequently let me hang with him and his friends.

Which also leads me to Matt...Matt and Scott met in Middle School and continued on for many years of education together. Matt is like a second brother to me and though he and his family live miles and miles away, we remain close.

That all being said, I was excited to see some of Scott's old friends from back in the day,

SUPER excited to hang with Matt and his wife Mistia, and party with my bro and SIL.

All wrapped up in a Date Night with my hubby!

 

Here are the guys...oh how I wish I could find a picture almost like this one from 20 years ago!

 

Matt and Mistia are two of the sweetest people I have ever met. EVER. 

The 6 of us had adjoining rooms and were all set with some beverages and snacks. 

I got a new dress for the occasion...

And we were ready for fun.

If you have never met Matt before...aside from being sweet, he is HILARIOUS!

Whenever we are with him we can't stop laughing, like the "I am crying, my stomach hurts, and oops, I may have just peed a little!" kind of laughing. 

 

 

 

(I think those pictures say it all!)

 

We had an amazing time!

There were several trips throughout the night back up to our rooms to refresh our beverages.

(We all agreed that our trips to the room were the best part of the night. Again...nonstop laughing!)

And I think our men had the hottest wives of all;)

 

Oh yeah, and we can't forget the after-party snacks!

It's only been a few weeks and I'm ready to do it again...

minus the reunion.

Matt and Mistia COME BACK!!!

Premier Parking

The school year is in full swing.

Even though Dominic drives himself to and from school,

(making life so much less hectic) I am still adjusting to juggling Emma's naptime and

picking up Connor from school.

Not to mention that the traffic at school is absolutely dreadful!

 

However, do you remember this post? Yup, that's the one where I bid on

A PARKING SPOT at the school auction!

I thought I'd never live that down.

I thought that I'd never stop feeling like an idiot for spending 200 DOLLARS

on a parking spot.

 

Now...THE BEST PURCHASE I EVER MADE!

 

 

Don't you LOVE the sign?

Hilarious!

 

I didn't use it the 1st few weeks, thinking there was no way I was going to be able to

even get to it, the traffic is so bad..

Then I chose a day where I didn't have to be anywhere at any particular time, and took a chance.

 

Ahhhh...How sweet it is!

 

I now use it to drop Connor off in the morning.

And as all the cars are lined up for pickup in the afternoon,

I get to bypass them all...

and park right up front!

 

The Buyer's Remorse is gone.

 

I may have to get to that auction every year.

Budget every month to save for this little gem;)

It is worth EVERY penny. And I can't imagine the next....

8 years of parking at that school without it.

 

Missing Pleasantville

2 Weeks ago today I left my hubby and kids for a full 60 hours, and

arrived in Pleasantville. My friend, L. Shanna, lives in Pleasantville, with her hubby, 2 kids, and her dog, Dan.

You see, I grew up with L. As in...I met her on the first day of Pre-School...type of growing up together.

We have gone through a lot over the years.

1st lost tooth.

1st Dance.

1st Bra.

Same basketball team.

1st Boyfriend.

Homecoming.

Play Performances.

College.

Weddings.

Babies.

The list goes on. And on.

L. has moved around a lot.

And I have moved...a little bit.

 

L. has been in Pleasantville for a couple years now.

I have heard many stories about her life there and have longed to go visit.

This year after the birth of her second little cutie, I decided this was the time to go.

And it couldn't have been more perfect.

I was greeted by some of the sweetest faces I have ever seen!

Little Aaron wasn't too much a fan of me.

However I think he is pretty awesome!

(This was my first time getting to meet that little gift from God.)

AB and I hit it off though.

We had lots of playtime and she started calling me, "Teacher."

*Sigh*

 

Dan the Man is pretty cool too.

L. really has 3 kids...

Dan lives the life of luxury.

We didn't do anything extraordinary. I told her I wanted to just hang, experience her everyday life.

Soak in some girl time and as much of her little ones as I possible could.

We played and played and played.

I got to experience bath time.

Bed time.

Nap time.

AB's Music Class.

A couple yummy meals out on the town.

Some yummy home-made meals by L., herself.

(She cooks! When did that happen?!?!)

 

And we walked around the lake.

Did I say it was perfect?!?!

Like 70 degrees perfect.

L. says that I got lucky with some pretty awesome weather.

And I have to agree.

 

It's tricky walking around the whole lake with 2 little ones.

But we did it!

 

We even came across a little elf house... 

So cute.

I guess children write letters and leave it with the elf that lives in the tree and he responds.

L. thinks maybe he locked up for the winter.

On the way home as I reflected on my trip (P.S. I can't remember the last time I had so much "alone" time!) I realized that I have never really seen L. in action as a mom before my visit. Little snipits here and there, but usually when she is in town it's for a wedding, a girls' weekend, or something of the sort.

Can I just say that she is Super Mom in my book?!?!

She has 2 under the age of 2.

Which alone, makes her Super Mom.

But she is so good with those kids!

She is so loving and has found an amazing balance with everything.

 

Which I guess is not too hard when you look at these faces everyday;) .....

 

When I think about what L has been through this past year, with the craziest pregnancy I have ever heard of, and quite possibly one of the scariest deliveries...

I am so thankful to have her in my life.

 

She is an amazing wife, mother, and friend.

She's also pretty awesome with Instagram!

So with her in mind, I reset my Instagram account

and included a couple of my pics... 

Who would've thought as we played in Mrs. Layne and Mrs. Grant's classroom or smelled Mrs. Evans's tuna fish sandwiches at lunch that we'd be here today, with families of our own...and still sharing memories.

Thanks for a great visit!

I miss you already:(