Best Friends Forever

My family moved to New Mexico when I was in 7th grade.  It was not an easy transition for our family, and certainly not for me.  It was hard to make friends, especially friends that shared anything close to my values.  There were a few girls in my ward that were my age, and while we were friendly on Sundays, I can't say we were really friends.  But that changed when I was about 16.  I started working at Subway, and so did Amanda Pyne.  She was one of the girls in my ward, but we didn't move in the same social circles.  Until we realized that we were destined to be best friends!  Starting with the job at Subway, and all the way through our freshman year of collage, we were inseparable.  We had a fair amount of our classes together, we worked together, we went to the gym together, we went to church together...we did everything together!  Somehow, though, life got the better of us.  I stayed at BYU after our freshman year, and Amanda went back to New Mexico to attend UNM.  We stayed in touch pretty well, up until I got married and then she got married.  Then life just got busy.  But recently we found that we can stay in really great touch by texting throughout the day.  That led to us realizing that the 8 years between visits had been WAY too long!  And as it would turn out, Amanda's husband Jerry is a genealogy buff and really wanted to travel to Utah to check out the Family History Center.   It didn't take long before plans were made, and Jerry, Amanda, and Mikey were on their way to Utah!

They got to our house on Sunday evening, and Danny had a special dinner planned.  He had brined and smoked a beautiful pork roast, and it was amazing!  We enjoyed dinner and visiting.  It was the first time that I had met Amanda's son Mikey, and it was the first time she had met either of our boys.  I had met Jerry once when they were dating when they were in Provo visiting Amanda's older brother, and she had met both Danny and the girls.  But this was our first chance to really get to know each others' families.  And even though years had passed, we didn't miss a bet.  We laughed and looked through my blog books, and let the kids wreak havoc.

On Monday, we just let the kids play and we hung out.  Jerry and Amanda got the crappiest rental car in the history of ever, so he spend a good portion of the day trying to get that straightened out.  Around lunch time, they took Mikey back to the hotel with the hopes of a nap, while I got Luke down for a nap at home.  We were planning on heading into Salt Lake when Danny got home, and we wanted the kids rested.  Jerry wanted to check out the Family History Center, and get a feel for the parking situation and all so he could come back on Tuesday and get some research done.  We spent only a few minutes in the library.  It closes early on Mondays for FHE, and the environs weren't really conducive to all the small children present. :)  We walked through Temple Square, taking in the sights and letting the kids roam.  We then made our way to City Creek, since Amanda and Jerry had never been.  The fountains are always a big hit with the kids.

We shopped around some of the stores, and just enjoyed the evening.  We eventually made our way to Kneaders for dinner.  A lot of the girls in Amanda's ward in New Mexico are Utah transplants, and they are always going on and on about how much they missed Kneaders.  Amanda couldn't understand what all the fuss was about, so we had to go there for dinner.  She gets it now.  Totally and completely gets it.  Kneaders is a beautiful thing. :)

I didn't realize how much I missed my friend until I was able to spend so much time with her again!  We both know that we were meant to be friends.  The Lord has blessed us each so much by our association with one another.  

It's crazy to think that at one point we were teenage girls, feeling for all the world like we were grown ups.  We weren't!  But somewhere along the line we did grow up...and now we're surrounded by a whole passel of kids!  Crazy!

It didn't take too long for the kids to start to get tired.  So we made our way back to the cars.  On our way back through Temple Square, we decided to take a quick look in the Assembly Hall that is just south of the Tabernacle.  I've never been in there before, and it was beautiful!  Some sweet sister missionaries took our picture for us...

  We had parked over by the Family History Center, which is also next to the Church History Museum.  Claire really wanted to take a look, so the families split up at that point.  Poor Mikey hadn't been getting all the rest he usually gets, and he was ready for bed! 

I have never been through the Church History Museum, and it's amazing!  And it was so neat to watch Danny take the opportunity to teach our children about the Joseph Smith and the Restoration.  I married such an incredible man.

While Danny was teaching the kids, I wandered a bit.  I came across the death masks for Joseph and Hyrum Smith.  They were incredible.  I had no idea they used death masks then!  But I'm so glad they did.  I have read accounts that say that Joseph was a handsome man, but in the paintings we use in the Church...I really don't see it.  But I could in the masks.  And I could see the resemblance between these two brothers.  I could have stayed and stared at those masks all night.  It made those two great mean real to me, possibly for the first time.  It was amazing.

But the children weren't nearly as willing to stand in one place, so we continued to walk around the museum.  A sister missionary told us to be sure to take the kids upstairs to the children's section before we left.  It was so neat!  The girls got to translate some golden plates...

...and Johnny fished off Nephi's boat!

There were costumes to try on, and ethnic dances being taught by video.  I got an awesome video of Danny dancing a traditional Mexican dance.  Priceless!  Luke didn't get to do much of any of this, so before we left, we let him take a ride in a firetruck with his brother and sisters...and a giant iguana. :)

Needless to say, we got the kids home WAY passed bedtime.  And they were exhausted!  But it was such an awesome night, and totally worth it.  The next morning, I picked up Amanda and Mikey for some shopping while the kids were in school, and Jerry made his way back to the Family History Center.  I was dying to take Amanda to Tai Pan, and she had charged us with finding something to go on her amazing mantle.  We shopped, and conquered. :)  I love shopping with someone else's money!  It was so fun to shop and talk together, and Mikey and Luke enjoyed some mini male bonding.

Then we had an amazing lunch at home.  But it needs some back story.  New Mexico has a few things that I miss terribly.  First, and obviously, is Amanda.  Then, tied for second, is amazing green chile on EVERYTHING and a little place called Dion's.  I can't even number how many times I ate at Dion's.  It's kind of the go-to place in Rio Rancho/Albuquerque.  They serve pizza, salads, and sandwiches.  And everything is amazing!  It's been way too long since I've had me some Dion's.  And Amanda knew this.  So what does a best friend do?  Buys some Dion's pizza dough, keeps in cold in a cooler packed with ice for a two day drive, and gives it to her friend for memory's sake!  Isn't she awesome?  We picked up some pizza fixings and some root beer, and made lunch at home.  It. Was. Amazing!  One of the most beautiful and tasty pizzas ever to come out of my oven. :)

The kids decided the special occasion deserved a toast.  I'm sure the root beer in glass bottles had absolutely nothing to do with it. :)

After lunch, we let the kids play and we just sat.  Mostly because Luke needed a nap and would only sleep on my lap.  We enjoyed some "Studio C", and even Mikey ended up closing his eyes for a bit.  Tuesday night was our last night together, so we were determined to go out with a bang.  Which for me and mine means more food. :)  We introduced Amanda and Jerry to the wonders of Kneaders, but they had yet to know the joy of Cafe Rio.  So that was dinner!  And it was predictably delicious.  Since we provided the idea for dinner, Amanda provided the idea for entertainment.  They were staying at a hotel after all, so it was kind of obvious.  Swimming!

I don't have a single picture.  Hard to do when everyone was wet.  Usually, I stay out of the pool and take pictures for progeny's sake.  It has nothing to do with how I feel in a bathing suit. :)  But this was a special occasion, because we were going to let Luke get his feet wet in the pool!  So I was on Luke-duty on the steps while Danny swam with the older kids.  Again, it was awesome to sit in the pool with my best friend and watch our babies swim.  The only bad part was the inevitable "goodbye" hanging over our heads.  Time didn't seem to care how much fun we were having, or how much I had needed this time with my friend.  We had to say goodbye...

But this time, it won't be for 8 years!  We'll get together again as soon as we can.  And now we know, when you're really best friends, time can't separate you completely.  The Lord has been so good to me in bringing such precious friends into my life.  And I'm so grateful that Amanda and her family used their precious time and resources to come visit us.  We love you guys!