There's Nothing Quite Like Old Friends Part 2

The last weekend of August we found ourselves graced by the presence of these two lovely ladies. (Two of my absolute favorite.) Beth was my college roommate, my maid of honor, and my personal childbirth nurse. I think I might start referring to her as St. Beth. Isabella is her

precious 5 year old daughter and, I think it's safe to say Brady's idol.


The two girls had the best time together. As wonderful as it is to be with your best friend, I think it might be even sweeter to see our children get along in the same fashion. Beth and Isabella's flight got in late Friday night, but that didn't stop these girls from living it up. They stayed up chatting and giggling until 1 in the morning. Which meant we big girls were up until 3 or so. (These apples didn't fall far from the tree.) Oh, but perhaps they slept in.... nope, they arose around 7 am.
We took it pretty easy Saturday. The little girls were content to play in B's room and the big girls didn't feel like doing much other than chatting. Because it took us so long to get up and going we ended up grabbing a bite at Chik-fil-a (so exciting) and a little Starbucks boost for the mamas. Then back to the house. That evening we packed up a picnic and headed to the Sarah P. Duke Gardens. It was quite lovely. Isabella and Brady rounded out the night with a dip in the tub and they were out pretty quickly. Of course, Beth and I had to stay up talking for awhile.


Sunday morning we woke a little later, so we went to late church. We then walked across the lot to Jason's Deli. (Can you believe they came all this way to eat in the same, boring restaurants that are readily available in Arkansas? Oh, well, it's really not what the trip was about, I suppose.) After that we headed to the fantastic Marbles Children's Museum in Raleigh for a full afternoon of fun. Here the girls are playing in an outdoor water area.
And here they are showing off their fabulous collaged dogs. You've probably noticed that these two girls are nearly the same size. Your eyes aren't fooling you; Isabella is only a couple of inches taller than Brady despite their nearly two year age difference. They were so fun to watch. That night Beth insisted on giving Adam and I a little time off, a rare treat. While we were out eating the rest of the bunch ate a pizza.
Monday morning the girls tried to cram a few last items of fun into the visit while Beth packed. On the way to the airport the girls made little "friendship cards" for each other to keep and remember their special friendship. We were so sad to see them go home. It was a wonderful girls weekend. I will treasure it always. I'm reminded of the old Brownies song, "Make new friends, but kee-eep the old, One is silver and the other gold." So true.