Lying in bed in our hotel room in Cortez, I thought about a good friend of mine who hates to have things scheduled in advance. She prefers to wake up every morning and decide, "what to I feel like doing today?!" Then she goes out and does it. I admire that spontaneity. As I pondered, I knew that the only reason I was getting up every day and doing these big events was because they were planned well ahead of time. If I left decisions till the morning of or the night before, I wouldn't do much because that's when it all feels overwhelming and not worth it (hello, laziness!). Yet, if it's planned, then I rarely ever regret moving forward and am almost always glad I followed though. Well, I suppose this is the kind of random mind wanderings than come from being cooped up in a hotel room.
*****
Saturday morning the kids were eager to get on the road from Cortez to Albuquerque. We had breakfast, packed up, and were on the road by 8:30 am. At home, we're usually still in our pajamas and sometimes just starting breakfast at that time.
The drive to ABQ was about 4 hours long and full of a whole lot of nothing.
In ABQ we were visiting friends from when Mark and I lived in Wymount at BYU, Brant and Lindsey. Lindsey and I were pregnant with our first babies at the same time. We walked almost every morning of the summer until our girls were born. In the evenings, we'd get together with Andrea and Spencer and play Bang! and talk for hours. Yet, despite our good times, after we moved to Florida and they moved to New Mexico, we lost touch. Keeping up with cherished friends is not one of my strengths, but it doesn't diminish the admiration and loyalty I feel towards any of them.
So, when we rolled up to Brant and Lindsey's home, it had been over 13 years since we'd seen them. Besides newborn Aubree and Hallie, our kids had never met. You never know what to expect in situations like that, but Brant and Lindsey opened their home and their hearts as if it had only been weeks we'd been apart instead of years.
Graham, Thane, and Nellie quickly disappeared into their backyard to play with Calvin and Ty. They spent most of their time digging, sometimes in the sandbox and sometimes in the garden beds. They were fast friends only moments after arrival.
With older kids, things aren't always quite so easy. Except in this situation, gregarious, confident Hallie swept Aubree right in and didn't even give them a chance to have an awkward beginning. Soon they were laughing and talking and planning their evening out to a special youth fireside with two members of the Quorum of the Seventy. Aubree was extremely excited to be able to go to the fireside with Hallie. She's really missing Youth activities while on this trip.
It wasn't quite as smooth of a start for Caleb and Bryce, as they are both more reserved and cautious. Yet, with a little time, they'd overcome their reservations and started to become friends.
By the time bedtime rolled around, I had a rough time convincing the boys to go to bed, because they just wanted to stay up and play with their new friends. Nellie, on the other hand, insisted she "wasn't tired at all" and that she "would not sleep" if I made her lie down. About 47 seconds later, she was zonked out.
Aubree and Hallie (and Caleb) returned from the fireside full of stories and laughter. The laughter continued while they watched a satire version of Pride and Prejudice set in Utah.
While they watched, I got some laundry done and felt extra grateful for the generosity of our hosts. It shouldn't be a surprise how much laundry six people make, but carrying the laundry around in a laundry bag somehow makes it all seem like so much more.
Church on Sunday didn't start until noon. That gave us tons of time in the morning to talk and play. We had even more time than normal, because Thane woke up at 6am and decided that since he was awake, he might as well wake up Nellie and myself. I can't say that helped me start the Sabbath day with feelings of peace and love.
The big boys spent all morning and part of the afternoon playing Risk. They still weren't done when it was time for us to leave. Considering the reputation of Risk, I guess they did really well only having two minor screaming fights (both times it was my boys).
The only time we'd ever before been in New Mexico was for a flight layover (which probably shouldn't even count). I'd always kind of considered Albuqueque to be just like Phoenix, only further east. I was surprised to learn it doesn't get nearly as hot as Phoenix and doesn't really have scorpions or many snakes. Even if it doesn't get as hot as Arizona, it's still a lot warmer than we are used to!
At church, all the kids but Graham had a buddy with whom to attend class.
After church we changed, packed up, had a delicious early dinner, were spoiled with ice cream, then got to the hard part - saying good-bye. This good-bye was made somewhat easier by the potential to see them again possibly in a few months or next summer. We won't let another 13 years go by this time around!
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