Once upon a time there were 3 families who lived in Oklahoma and all became friends…

Do you want to know my favorite part of this story?? It’s that “Once upon a time” is still true today.

Friends.

One of the funnest things to me is getting people together year after year. When you have littles, getting to see these littles see their friends and make new memories is something they look forward to almost as much as I do, I think!

As a couple, Jared and I often talk about how tricky it can be to find friends as a couple where both the husband and wife enjoy each other and y’all can just have a good time doing something or nothing. Staying in a cabin for days at a time is definitely another level of friendship!

As I was editing these images from our annual cabin trip, I had to laugh at some of the memories that came up revolving around these two families.

From Liz and Matthew, who we’ve known longer than they’ve had kids- needing to borrow our car when Liz went into labor early to countless days of popsicles outside out town home while we were both living in Texas for grad school. When our adventures took us both to Oklahoma within months of each other, we ended up at the same apartment complex. That’s when we met the Tanners! We quickly became friends! Liz and Matthew kept our littles while we were in the hospital with baby number 3 and- to this day- Jared’s favorite enchiladas are still the ones Bri made for us after we brought the baby home. She just happened to make those same enchiladas at the cabin while we were all there! Jared wasn’t even sad about it… Nope! Zoo and museum outings, splash pad playdates, english tea parties at Bri’s… the list of memories goes on. I remembered many times sitting on a barstool at Liz’s while Bri and Liz talked about their Great British Baking Show adventures. I had zero clue what they were talking about because I didn’t watch it BUT I was always more than happy to be the taste tester as they discussed their next creation! Matthews turmeric phase, the Tanner’s love for Harry Potter; halloween parties and Sunday night dinners… These two crews helped our little family feel like there was a place for us in Oklahoma when family was so far away.

I will definitely admit that on our get togethers I am still the one who doesn’t get fancy with the food. It’s just not a core thing to me… buuuut eating good food is! Ha! My level of enjoying of their God-given talents is just as strong today as it once was! The laughs are still full, the noise is growing as the numbers of kiddos increases. The hiking and picnics, the 2 a.m. conversations and the games that are played whenever we can sneak a minute without kids noticing. It is definitely something to look forward to!

Here’s to next year when the adventures continue!!! Although, next year, maybe we could do without a couple 4-year-olds wanting to explore the forest on their own… Thank goodness for good neighbors!!!