Friends from Birth

Almost five years ago,  Deona was pregnant with Everett and Tracie was pregnant with twin boys Ethan and Benjamin. Early on in their pregnancies, Sal (Tracie's partner) and I became online friends via a support board on the internet for expectant moms.  Our situation was not common, so to find a family in similar situation was awesome; even if they lived clear on the other side of the world. 

Over the course of their (Deona and Tracie's) pregnancies, Sal and I continued with emails and sharing pics of our nurseries, showers, blogs, happy moments, setbacks, etc. and through it all maintained a friendship even after our boys were born. 

On May 3rd, 2008 Ethan and Benjamin were born and 10 days later our Everett was born.  

Four years (to the month) later, the Hartlen's visit all the way from New South Wales, Australia.   I'm not gonna lie, I was a tad nervous about meeting them in person. Would they be high maintenance? Would their parenting styles annoy me?  Would their children be out of control?  Usually not a big deal however staying with us for 5 days might make for a hard visit right?  Thankfully my fears were short lived.  There are so many uncanny similarities, I immediately felt comfortable with all of them; sharing many laughs, stories and our boys' (rotational) meltdowns throughout the week. :) This week was definitely a highlight and lots of fun for our family.

First photo together:

Everett, Ethan, Benjamin & Emory

The next few days were about spending time together and having fun!

Forth Worth Children's Museum:

Dinner at Joe T Garcia's:

Dallas Zoo:

The 3 Musketeers & a little lady.

Celebrating Ev's 4th birthday at It'z pizza:

Aunt Schneider takes Ev for his very first rockclimb.



Ev opens his bday presents.  Thanks Granmom for all the confetti.

Cedar Hill State Park:

s'mores!

River Legacy:



Silly boys on our bush walk.

Waterplay in our backyard:

Rainforest Cafe at Grapevine Mills Mall:

Thanks Grammy for the wonderful birthday dinner and Volcano Cake at the Rainforest Cafe.  We all had an awesome time!

Chubby Caboose at Grapevine Mills Mall:

Island Carousel at Grapevine Mills Mall:

Our last night together:

Sadly Wednesday showed up much quicker than we hoped and it's been much quieter and sad since they left. :-/

 Saying goodbye is never easy.

Even so, I'm glad we were able to share 5 wonderful days with the Hartlen's AND we're soooo looking forward to our family vacations every 2.5 years!

HUGE thanks Sal, Trace, Ethan and Ben for visiting and making this past week extra special for our family and friends! xoxo

 

Some Australian words I learned this week:

cot = crib

nappy = diaper

dummy = pacifier

bush walk = hike

batteries go "flat" = dead

joggers = sneakers

singlet = tank top

torch = flashlight

eski = ice chest/cooler
lolly = all candy; except lollipops

There's more, help me out Sal and Trace. :o)