As I have mentioned, this summer is gonna be a tough one for me. I have three close friends that are all moving away within a few weeks of one another. As if one weren't enough--oh no, it has to be all three! I honestly haven't taken much time to process it all since it's going to happen whether I spend time thinking about it or not. So I have just tried to put it out of my mind until I absolutely had to deal with it. And the inevitable happened......my first goodbye of the summer.
The Schmitt family is moving to New Zealand for a year-long fellowship for Bill and although we are thrilled for them, it's sad for us! Not only will they be embarking on a fun year-long adventure but they'll also be living in the same city as my sister and brother-in-law (who happens to be Steph's best friend). Yes, this would be a great year for me to finally make it over to NZ! But this goodbye might be the easiest only because there is hope they will return (hint, hint Steph).
Steph and the kids joined us at Wyatt's baseball game one night and then came over the next morning to hang out for the last time for an entire year---aaaaghhhhhh!
Wyatt definitely had the most fans at this game! (Although Claire seems quite disinterested)
We had only a few hours to soak up as much of these kids as we could!
Ellie was loving Sadie's babies...
..while Claire was half-fascinated with what Blake was doing and half-plotting to see how she could get her hands on whatever he was playing with.
Claire rockin' the banana clip
These boys had so much fun in the basement together!
Sadie was spinning Ellie in the chair and she was loving it!
And then Wyatt (car-lover) introduced Charlie (only kid I know who loves cars as much as Wyatt) to the CARS2 game on the Wii. (So sorry Steph!) Our rule in the summer is that the Wii stays off all summer unless it's a rainy day. Lucky for Charlie, it started raining while they were here and Wyatt immediately wanted to show Charlie this game.
Which Ellie took as her opportunity to high-tail it out of the room with her hands full of the boys' goods!
As a quick side note, I have given Steph all of Sadie's old clothes and it's so sweet for me to see them on these girls. This little pink polo dress was one of my favs and it brings back so many great memories when I see Ellie (or Claire) wearing it!
Steph intervened for a bit to help Charlie have some success at the game.....and Steph, those old Nintendo skills came back pretty quick!
Love these boys--they are so similar in so many ways
Possibly the best picture from the day...and the most telling....Charlie looking up to Wyatt to see what he should do next. It's pictures like this that make saying goodbye so tough!
And then we quickly move from the sentimental picture to seeing Blake scaling the staircase with the girls quickly following (these girls are like female versions of Blake---but there are two of them! To say that Steph is a busy mom would be a slight understatement!)
Now Blake's coaching them on how to get up...but they don't need it because they just grab the railing and pull their entire 23-lb bodies up with those killer biceps!
Our attempt at a cute picture of these three..
At least we got a cute picture of Ellie and Claire!
And a few attempts at a group picture...
Um, can we say 'stale smiles'?!
Back to the CARS2 game, but this time Ellie was into it
Check out her mad skills on the remote!
Sadie has loved seeing these girls from the moment they came home from the hospital--it's been such a fun few years watching these girls grow from tiny little babies into toddlers! And although Sadie doesn't get to hold them as much as she would like anymore, she loves showing them how to play babies, put jewelry on, and be a girlie girl!
I have no idea what Ellie was smiling about here, but I love that little face!
Charlie and Blake reading a book together
And Ellie making one last attempt at a getaway with her loot!
Blake hugging Ellie goodbye for an entire year!
Oh man...these pics kill me
(gotta love the chocolate chips Wyatt was giving all the kids as a treat for getting in the car quickly!)
And they're off!! Thankfully Steph and I didn't say goodbye, we just hugged and said "See you later!" which we will....and even if they aren't living in the same city, we know we'll be having family ski trips together! Especially after the B.S.T.E.!
Off to New Zealand....and I survived my first goodbye!
1 comments:
oh man kris! just saw these pics and it makes me want to fly home so we can hang out again! i love seeing our kids together and i am sure they will pick up right where they left off next july when we return. sure you don't want to take a "quick" trip over? love you! ps. can you send me your pics? or post them to google?
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