We have loved watching spring erupt across the valley this week. From our house we can see all the trees down below gradually turning green, and the blossoms exploding on the trees lining our street. We are feeling the familiar Utah feeling in our blood, and we're excited to get out and explore more as the weather continues to get nicer.
We've had a nice week. My best bud Julie will be moving to Idaho in just a few short days. We have been trying to squeeze in as many playdates together as we can before then. Having her here these first few months of us living in Utah has been the sweetest unexpected blessing. I haven't made many close adult friends, and certainly none with decades of history like I have with Julie. It has been lovely to feel how easy a friendship can be again. It has been nice to have her family around to bridge the friendship gap while we've slowly gotten to know a few people in our neighborhood, school, ward. Now that Julie's family will be moving we will try and grow some of these newer friendships. But I will miss the ease and comfort of being able to get together with an old friend and just chat or watch a show or get our kids together so they can entertain each other while we catch a break. It has been lovely.
Another highlight of our week was the Sunday dinner hosted by my cousin last night. Many cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and my grandma were in attendance. It was warm enough to have dinner on the back patio while the kids all ran around and played on the lawn. It felt like a Sunday family dinner from my own childhood. I'm just so grateful that we made it back here and are able to raise our children around family, and that I get to enjoy living by my family too. I've missed that. It's every bit as wonderful as I imagined it would be.
And now for some pictures from our week:
^^Blurry picture, but I took Julie to Red Lobster for one last girl's night before she moves. Somehow she had never tried lobster OR crab in her 32 years of life, and I couldn't let her leave without remedying that. She liked both and we had a nice evening, ending with a bit of packing up at her apartment.
