Saying Goodbye

Last week, we had to say goodbye to some very dear friends who are moving back to Australia.  For two years, they have been just across the courtyard from us and now they will be across the world, on a whole other continent.  To say that we are sad about the void they are leaving behind doesn't even begin to cover it. 

We did, however, manage to cram in some pretty amazing moments on their last night here.   The plan was a picnic dinner in the park, but the real highlights came spontaneously.

Running and climbing and wrestling,

streaking through the spray park in the buff (okay, that one was just the three-year-olds),

hugs and kisses all around,

And of course, lots and lots of smiles.

Goodbye, sweet friends.  You will be dearly missed. You taught each of us so much in the last two years, not least of which was to expand Lilah's definition of family.  She will grow up knowing that families don't necessarily have to consist of one mommy, one daddy, and their kid(s), but beyond that, and even more importantly, she now knows that friends, good friends, are the family you get to choose for yourself.

We are going to miss the moments we shared, but know that, even though you are far away for now, there will be many more of these moments to come.

Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.

~~Omar Khayyam

 

Young Love, Recyled

I posted these photos on a Wordless Wednesday in July last year, when these two were completely enamored of each other:

They're still great friends, but their relationship has changed a little.  Now Lilah has taken to telling him she's the mommy and he's the baby and she gives him timeouts but refuses to give him hugs and kisses when it's time to say goodbye.  Not sure what that says about my parenting...?

Wordless Wednesday: Together

Friends that read together

And laugh together

Stick together.

Happy Wednesday, friends!

Wordless Wednesday: Rub a Dub Dub...

...Three kids in a tub.

 

Wednesday of Few Words: Evolution of a Friendship

I like photos.  And I like music.  I especially like photos set to music.  Yep, I loves me a good slide show. Creating slide shows is one of my favourite things to do with the millions of photos I take.  If I could, I would spend my days making slide shows of all of the momentous occasions of our life.  You know, birthday parties, weekend getaways, play dates, tooth extractions, trips to the gynecologist, that sort of thing.  Unfortunately (fortunately?), I don't have that kind of time on my hands, so I am restricted to only creating a few each year.

I knew when Lilah's best-friend-in-the-whole-wide-world's birthday was coming up that I wanted to give her family a DVD that showed the evolution of our girls' friendship.  Lilah has lots of friends, but this little girl holds a very special place in her heart, and the Hubs and I have built a wonderful friendship with her parents.  I had an inkling that they might, like me, prove to be total suckers for a good slideshow, so I pulled out all the stops and preyed on the heightened sentimentality that parents typically feel around their children's birthdays.  Yep, I had them bawling into their birthday cake leftovers.  If I'm going to be a total cheeseball, I'm taking everyone around me down too.  'Cause I'm just a good friend like that.

Photos by Amanda and The Hubs

Music by Brandi Carlisle