New York, New York! (part 2)

Have you ever had a really good friend? The kind that you can hang out with several times a week and still have things to talk about? The kind that you call on their birthdays even though you haven't seen them in years? The kind that, when you do finally see each other again, it's like that gap is completely forgotten and things are just like they used to be?

Because we have friends like that. Several, actually. But the ones I'm thinking about are special in that they were our first 'married couple' friends (meaning we were both married couples).

Here's how it happened. It's the beginning of 2009, and Jon and I have been married all of two weeks. I've just left behind everything and everyone I know to be with him in Texarkana, Arkansas. And it's lonely while he's at work.

Enter Kellie. I'm home all alone, cleaning the (filthy) apartment when she and her toddler, Audrey, knock on the door. She had come to meet me--just to chat and tell me about life in Texarkana (oh, the joys). Audrey played happily with a container of kitchen utensils on the furniture-less floor while Kellie and I talked. I felt like I had a friend.

And Kellie is an amazing friend. She threw me a welcome party/bridal shower so I could meet the girls in the ward/apartment complex and bought me a mixing bowl so I could actually feed my husband (our furniture and things wouldn't be there for a month). I still have that bowl, and it makes me smile every time I see it.

Here's the best part: she taught me how to cook. I know lots of good cooks, but Kellie is amazing. Every week we would get together and make one of her recipes. She introduced me to the garlic press, good Parmesan cheese, and homemade cheesecake. Jon will be eternally grateful for her tutelage.

In exchange for cooking lessons, Jon & I would watch their daughter Audrey so they could go out. We adored Audrey. She was our practice child, and she was hilarious. Our apartment was always a total disaster after she left, but we had a great time. I was secretly proud that I was one of the few people Audrey would go to besides her parents. Of course, she really liked Jon better. If I ever came over to visit without him, the first thing out of her mouth would be, "Jon?"

Jon & Scott were carpool buddies, Calvin and Hobbes connoisseurs, and collaborators on projects ranging from Sudoku solvers to laser building. Between the two of them, dinner conversations were always entertaining. They especially enjoyed playing Mario Kart (N64, of course) on our 13 inch television.
We have a lot of great memories with Scott, Kellie, and Audrey. They introduced us to Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes (the most faithful representation I've ever seen), homemade Oreo cookies, and Ticket to Ride (the European version, of course). We loved playing games and eating delicious food with them. It was great to have such awesome friends to mooch off of.In August the boys graduated with their MBA/MSBAs and we went our separate ways. Scott and Kellie headed down South to Huntsville and we headed to Iowa. Four years and two moves later and we're now only two and half hours from each other. Since we were headed up north to see Daniel and Wendy, we were so excited to have an excuse to stop and see Scott and Kellie. (Disclaimer: I took no pictures, and I forgot to ask Kellie. Sorry!)Last time we saw Audrey, she had just turned two years old and we had presented her with a giant orange kickball that she could barely hold over her head. Now she's almost six. I was expecting the same shy little girl we left. Instead, it took me a full hour to get used to a tall, talkative, intelligent girl who has clearly inherited her mom's hostess skills. Not only that, but she now has a little brother, Ian, who is just a few months younger than Seth.

Kellie fed us an incredible dinner (seriously better than what you'd get in a restaurant) followed by an incredible dessert. I told her she needs to start a recipe blog--I'm still surviving off her recipes from four years ago, but she's clearly moved on to bigger and better things!

We spent the afternoon catching up. Kellie and I refereed the kids in the basement while Scott showed Jon how his laser is coming along. Later we went for a walk along a creek to a park where the kids could play. We laughed at how Seth and Ian manifest their boyness in two different ways: Seth walked the entire way with a car in each hand, while Ian was constantly stopping to grab dirt and rocks.

As it got close to bedtime, we said our goodbyes and headed back home. It's awesome to think that we have our friends so close. We can meet up at the beach or in New York City (should we ever decide to brave the city with Seth). We love it.

Thank again, Scott, Kellie, Audrey and Ian! Hopefully we'll get to see you again soon!

And Kellie, I'm still thinking about that dinner. Amazing.