Tag Archives: friends

Good friends after a busy day

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Today was one of the more head-spinning days of this crazy month. I started with an early walk at the Dish. I love it up there and with a good friend. Then I headed to the book fair, and I was back and forth all day. I interspersed four piano lessons, a reading in the 4th grade class, errands for someone I visit teach, lunch, and good talks with the book fair ladies. Somehow Brandon and I also made a couple loaves of homemade bread and then got ready for a party tonight. I was feeling tired but was so happy to be able to come to the party to honor a dear friend who just finished her masters’ program. It made it all worthwhile to have some time with some of my dearest friends. Great talks with good friends always brings my energy back. Here are some of us together tonight at this party. I wish I had pictures of all the friends there tonight that I admire so much.

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Fun in the sun

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We went to the beach today to just have fun and relax with some of our friends from our ward. It was a lot of fun. We had an awesome game of ultimate frisbee, hit a volleyball around, played ladderball and smash ball, built sand castles, did stop motion movies, and the harlem shake. We have a few burns, and we are tired, but we love our dear friends who we spent the day. We needed a day for relaxation, good conversations, and beautiful weather.

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Zion National Park

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Today Heidi and I flew to Las Vegas, picked up a rental car, picked up Crystal, and then drove to Zion National Park in southern Utah. We three friends have gone on numerous trips over the last few years. When we all lived in the same city, we used to walk the dish a few times a week. We started going on yearly getaways together. The first was a fun surprise trip to Portland, Oregon. We have gone local, visiting Muir Woods and Carmel and Monterey. We have gone south to Santa Barbara. We have driven up to Ashland, Oregon, to see a play and go for bike rides. We met in Salt Lake once, and the latest trip was to Zion National Park with a little time in Las Vegas.

It is always fabulous to talk and eat and think and discuss things with these two dear friends. We went on a wonderful hike to the Emerald Pools in Zion’s. It had some waterfalls along the dusty trail. On the way back down it was dusk, and many deer came out along the trail for feeding on leaves. We were literally just a few feet from them. The views in the park are spectacular, the red rocks, the soaring rock walls, the beautiful puffy clouds. We will have more time tomorrow to hike and explore.

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Friends in faith

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Every other week the 8-11 year old girls at our church get together to do fun activities together. Tonight they did some watercolor painting and learned about the temple. They are cute and energetic and good friends to each other.

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Cupcakes for celebrating

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So Robin and Maren helped to celebrate Robin’s primary teacher’s birthday tonight. It was decorate your own cupcakes and fun chatting with friends.IMG_1561Here is Robin with her teacher, and her new dog, Tina, who Camille takes on walks at least once a week. It satisfies some of the dog longing.IMG_1562

Running out of gas

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I ran out of gas on the way home from picking the kids up from school. I was literally a half block from my house. I had the kids and their friends jump out of the car and walk home. My neighbor drove by and helped me out. We asked some construction workers to come and push me to the side of the road. I then went home, got a gas can that had less than a gallon of gas and put that in the tank. Not enough. So my neighbor and dear friend drove me to the gas station to get some gas in the can. She filled up her car too. I came back and filled the tank, and it started! I headed directly back to the gas station in my car and filled it to the top.

So what did I learn. I shouldn’t have postponed going to the gas station the three times earlier in the day when I had talked myself out of the trip to fill up the tank. Friends often come right in the nick of time to bail us out of our troubles. It is good to have a sense of humor about these things. I am glad I was close to home and no one was hurt. I need to fill up my tank before it is too late. I was glad I had a gas can! Sometimes we do silly things. The list could go on. We are all safe and sound at home. I am happy the weekend is here.

The Healing Power of Friendship

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I am feeling grateful tonight for some of the relationships I see around me. First one that comes to mind is my son and his friends. Yesterday Brandon found out he didn’t make the sports team he was trying out for in high school. It was a sad night for him. But soon after he got home, and we all mourned with him and heard his thoughts about it, his friends called to see if he was coming over. He has a great group of neighborhood friends who ride their bikes to school, are in scouts together, play video games together, watch movies, and have played in the neighborhood since they were younger. I felt so grateful he had something to do to soothe the blow last night. Again today, they all went and got some dinner together on their bikes. Brandon seems fine. The disappointment is there, but he is dealing with it, and having good, supportive friends helps.

This week we have been working on relationships in the house. We have had a complete turnaround in some of them. Where there once was underlying tension and some animosity, we have friendship, kindness, and fun. Not only that, the girls are becoming a better support and listening ear for each other. Friendships at home are fabulous.

Nicole had time to spend with two of her closest friends today. It has been lonely for a couple of months with school pressures and sickness. This week there is a light back in her eyes with more time with her friends. It is such a blessing to have friends to share thoughts and feelings and fun.

Erik and I had time for an early walk together and went out for dinner for our date last night. Time to talk about what is on my mind with my best friend keeps me centered and balanced. All in all, these friendships can be healing and sometimes right at the time when they are most needed.