Our first stop was at the Hoffman house. Kaylee & Savannah have been friends since they were toddlers. Tiffany was one of my first friends in Ankeny thanks to the Mom's Group that I joined - our mutual love for the Foo Fighters and Dave Grohl is a bond that will keep us going no matter the distance. This year the girls were lucky enough to be in 1st grade together. It was so nice to see them and listen to the girls play together like no time had passed.
After we left the Hoffman's, we checked into our hotel and promptly called the Auderer's to come and swim with us. I realized later that evening that I did not take one picture of their visit! :(
The kids swam and sat in the hot tub and about 1.5 hours later they were all laying on the ground next to the hot tub. I think that they were exhausted. So we got dressed and headed over to their house for some pizza and a little more play time. The Auderer's are such great family friends to us and it has been hard on all of us that we no longer live in Ankeny. We look forward to many visits in the future!
Thursday morning we got up and our busy day started. First stop friends' houses! I dropped Kaylee off at Abby's house. The girls have been writing back and forth since the day we moved. Abby gave Kaylee an adorable going away present with some cards and they have been used to the fullest! I then dropped Maxwell off at Kyle's house. Maxwell & Kyle have been friends for years and were in 3rd grade together in Ankeny. It has been tough of both boys to not see each other everyday! While the kids were playing, I decided to get a work-out in at kosama and see all of my friends there. Unfortunately there not as many friends as I had hoped because of spring break. But it was great to be back, even for a short time, and get a great kickboxing workout in (I'm pretty proud that I burnt over 700 calories in one class). I have missed it there!!
After visiting with the Abby & Kyle's moms and picking up the kids, we went straight over to Hollie's house for lunch a few hours of playing and catching up. I love how well our kids get along and play so well together even though there are many years separating them. Every time Hollie & I get to hang out and talk there is so much fun & laughter. She is a such a source of strength to me! We had a house full of kids and I think that calls for a girls day where we can focus on our friendship. She is watching her niece for a few hours so we had an extra child in the mix - I can see the happiness it brings Hollie to watch her. It was a fun, laughter filled afternoon. Exactly what I needed! I think that my favorite part of the visit was watching Maxwell play with Cooper. He is so protective and patient with him. It fills my heart!
Our last stop of the day was to Dean Park with the Schafer's! Our kids have been friends since they were preschoolers and toddlers. One of our first memory's together was when Maxwell & Noah were in preschool (very early in the school year) and Maxwell threw up in the car before class. I stopped Jen in the parking lot and asked her to watch my kids quick so I could run in and tell the teachers. We've been friends ever since and so have our kids. Allison & Matt even share a birthday. It has been so fun watching them all grow up together and all of the stories we have shared over the years! It was a beautiful but windy day to be at the park. The kids ran and played for a couple of hours - which is exactly what was needed we all needed before heading back to Cedar Falls. My kids are always so excited when we get to visit the Schafer family.
I wish we could have seen more of our friends. There will be more visits and more chances to see our old friends. I found myself getting very emotional writing this post...I could have gone on forever writing about how much our two visits to Ankeny and the friends we saw during this time meant to me. Ankeny was my first "home" in many years and while I am trying to embrace Cedar Falls nothing can compare.
Kaylee said it just right when we were driving through town during our visit. "Ankeny is the best town we could ever live in. I hope Daddy's next job is here again." Me too Kaylee, me too!
Me too Kaylee!!
ReplyDelete