Forever Friends

I am still behind on blogging, but I really wanted to share about the wonderful time we had last weekend(Aug.10-12).  Our friends, Gary and Candy Hart, and their beautiful daughters, Bekah and Katelyn, came to visit us for the weekend, and it was so wonderful and refreshing to have them here.  We hadn't been able to see them in over a year, and having them here for the weekend was a true blessing.

On Friday the 10th, we took them to Easton, which is a fabulous shopping center here in Columbus.  We don't go there often, but we always have fun when we do.  There are tons of stores and great restaurants, and it was built to feel like an old town with all the modern conveniences.  They also have fountains that our kids love to play in, so we took towels and a change of clothes and watched as our kids, along with Katelyn, soaked themselves in the water. 

Our big mission while we were there was to find a new Webkinz for Katelyn who had money to burn.  We found an incredible selection at The Limited Too, which is where Lukas was first introduced to the world of Webkinz.  He and Katelyn spent some time on the computer over the weekend, and he has been begging for a Webkinz ever since.  The good news is that we had already decided to get him one for his birthday before he even knew what they were, and we secretly purchased it while at Easton.  So...shhhh!  His birthday isn't until September 6th!

Last Saturday, we went to the Columbus Zoo.  We usually go there often, but because it has been such a scorching summer here, this was our first visit since last December.  There were some great additions to the zoo that we enjoyed.  Lukas, Katelyn, and Ava were begging to see Fluffy, the largest snake in captivity.  I think everything we saw prior to seeing Fluffy was forgotten immediately because the day was all about seeing Fluffy.  She, or maybe he, is a huge snake, for sure.  We also got to see a white aligator, which even I, the person who prefers to avoid the reptile building altogether, thought was cool.

Most importantly, we were blessed to have a great time with some of our dearest friends.  We miss our all of friends from New York, who are like family to us.  These are the kind of friends we can go to with anything and they are always there for us, through the good and the bad.  They pray for us.  They love us.  We do the same for them.  A lot of people come and go through the years, but certain friends are part of you for life, and the Harts are definitely those kind of friends.  I am so glad that we got to spend this time with them and hope that it is not so long before we see them again.

For the rest of our friends and family who are far away, we hope that you will all be visiting soon as well!