My friend Meg and I both agreed that we were still on little highs on Monday after the very best weekend!
The Landers family are some of our best friends (we met in Kansas), and they’re currently stationed down at Fort Rucker, which is about 4.5ish hours south of us. They’re PCSing soon, so we knew we needed to plan something quick before the miles between us triple. Though we text almost every day, it was a random 10 p.m. Instagram DM conversation that led us to spontaneously pick an upcoming weekend to make their visit happen.
We truly lucked out with the most perfect weather (70s and cloudless all weekend), so we spent 95% of our awake hours outside.
Both dinners were on the back patio, breakfast and coffee were consumed outside (both mornings turned into 1-2 hour events while the kids jumped on the trampoline in PJs and we ate, sipped, and talked).
With eight mouths to feed (and four of them belonging to somewhat particular kiddos), I made a spread each morning with a variety of options. I cooked, Meg and/or Jamie cleaned, and everyone consumed in between meeting the kids’ frequent requests.
The whole weekend was slow and likely nothing special to outsiders, but to us it was the perfect chance to engage in a bunch of activities we loved while catching up on much-needed friend time together.
We squeezed in a workout, enjoyed a few hours at The Space and Rocket Center (the kids loved the simulator and the four of us adults got an adrenaline rush on Space Shot!), enjoyed at afternoon beer at a family-friendly brewery (Rocket Republic), went on a long Sunday morning walk, enjoyed brunch in downtown Madison (Old Black Bear), and spent every other moment piddling around the house taking it easy. It was perfect.
I know it was a hike for them to make the trip for such a short visit, but it meant the world to us and was one of those “dots” that keep long-distance friendships so tightly connected. It never hurts to have more people in your life that know and love your kids for who they are, and that’s how I feel about hers and I’m pretty sure that’s how she feels about mine. It’s fun to raise our kids together while apart at the same time. Adult friendships are such a gift.
Let’s chat!
What are some of your preferred ways to keep up with long distance close friends? How often do you see each other?
-Shop items seen in the post-
Hi! I’m Erica, and I absolutely adore sharing my life on this website with you! I come here almost daily to blab about all of the things related to being a regular wife and mother in today’s ever-evolving society. I share about our new home, what’s on our kitchen table, what we’re hanging in our closets, where we’re traveling to next, my crazy 5 a.m. work outs, how I make time for girlfriends, our faith, and much more. We always have a lot of balls in the air and somewhat thrive on the chaos. I believe in the power of story-telling as a form of inspiration and entertainment, so I’m here to do both! I was born and raised in north Alabama and recently re-planted roots here again after my husband transitioned out of the Army (he is now in the Reserve and it’s going so well!) I’m a super proud mom to three little girls (ages 7, 4, and 1) who seem to be the stars of the show around here (for good reason – they’re pretty great!) I’m so glad you found me and are here reading! I hope we can get to know each other here on the blog as well as Facebook and/or Instagram. xoxo