Just like old times...

Justin and I first met Steve and Jen Allen in 2004. We were new in our ward in Logan and they were just about our same age (Justin, Jen, and I are all the same age; Steve is much older). We invited them over for cake and ice cream when Justin turned 23 and have been best friends since. In the beginning, they only had Lindee and we had no kids. So we were at their house almost every night. Seriously. They didn't seem to get sick of us though! :) As more kids came (Jaiden, Molly, Taylor) we weren't able to get together as often (4 girls means naptimes, bedtimes, and we didn't fit in one car anymore!) but when we did get together we had the funnest of times! We played Settler's way more times than I can count, watched movies, made runs to Casper's ice cream, went cross-country skiing, picnics in the canyon, ate dinner at each other's houses at least once a week, and on and on. We got to be really close friends. Steve and Justin were both working their way through school and ended up having a lot of the same hobbies (biking, golfing, etc.) and Jen and I just liked to hang out or go walking.

Now we live in Lindon and they live in Murray. We finally had them come to our house on Sunday for dinner and some fun. We had Shredded Pork Burritos, a favorite of both families and then let the kids play while we caught up. Lindee, Jaiden, and Molly spent a long time on the tramp and eventually Justin and Steve joined them.They got bounced pretty high and Jaiden got a big scratch on her face (although this happened when the adults were inside, so we're not sure how she got it).

Lindee (who's only 4) has always been so brave and willing to try everything. So when her dad told her to do a flip, she just did it with no fear! After a couple of tries landing on her head, she mastered it. She was pretty good, sign that girl up for gymnastics!We thought that the 3 older girls would have fun decorating sugar cookies. Lindee was the only one who really enjoyed it, I think. She did a really good job; she got all her artistic abilities from her mom, who is very artistic (something I'm definitely not!).Jaiden decorated a few cookies and then escaped to go play with Molly's toys, which she loved.

And Molly ate most of her decorations. She would put decorations on the cookies and then take them right back off and put them in her mouth! Here she is showing off her cookie (which is half-eaten).We loved this picture because it shows how messy the table was, as well as how messy Molly was. Can you see the cookie actually stuck to her jacket?All the girls--Molly, Taylor, Jaiden, LindeeMolly had so much fun with her "friends." She told me on the way to the store this morning, "Mommy, I want to play with my friends again." I don't think she remembers their names, just that she had lots of fun and that she wants to do it again!