Wordish Wednesday - When Bloggy Friends Meet

"You can pick your nose, and you can pick your friends, but you can't wipe your 

friends on the couch."

~Ryan Seacrest

 

Ha!  Nothing like a photo of a 2 year old picking a gorilla statue's nose to get the day started right.

Last Saturday, we met up with LeeAnn and her adorable family at Busch Gardens.  LeeAnn and I met through blogging and being that we live in the same state, we had a connection.  I love that she always responds via email to every comment, and through that means we found out that we have quite a bit in common.  We met for the first time last summer, and just a few months ago we began planning another meet up.  We decided that Busch Gardens would be a perfect place to meet and enjoy some family time.

We visited the gorilla/monkey exhibit while we waited on our friends to arrive.  I love the early morning sun in this photo. 

When our friends showed up we saw the elephants and then headed to the carousel.  Rylie has the most beautiful blue eyes and she was a big fan of the ride, while Bryce was not. 

Then, Daddy took Cam to ride the loop-de-loop roller coaster, and Chloe & Rylie rode this little airplane.  I was a bit freaked out that Chloe would get anxious and try and climb out, so I buckled her in tightly and she enjoyed her ride.

We ate lunch, saw the tigers, and then headed to the splash pad so the kids could get wet.  This is the only photo I have with all 4 kids in it.  Amazing how hard it is to capture kids with the chaos of a theme park swirling around them.

Bryce was in his element in the water.  He splished and splashed and appeared to be loving it.  Somehow the one year old was the only one who stood still long enough for a decent-ish photo.

Before I knew it the afternoon was drawing to a close.  LeeAnn and I did manage to squeeze in a few conversations and the kiddos were really well behaved all day.  We decided that we should try and meet up a little more often.

Several weeks ago I received an email from my girl Sassy.  She has a beautiful blog, family, and faith, and I have been reading her story for well over a year.  I was drawn to her writing style, her faith in the Lord, and her story.  I read about her 2 lb miracle baby, O, who is now a thriving 3 year old.  I read about her testimony, her trials, and her decision to leave the Mormon faith.  I followed her pregnancy with her 4th child in 6 years, and we developed a friendship. 

So, imagine my surprise when she emailed me and mentioned that she is in town on vacation!  Eeekk!  What are the odds???   So, I invited them over to swim.  I figured with 6 kids total, it might be easier to have them confined to a house/pool versus chasing them around a park or the beach. 

It worked out well, Camdyn and Sassy's oldest boy got along really well.  They enjoyed holding hands and jumping in the pool together over and over again. 

And much to my surprise, Chloe got along brilliantly with O.  We all know that Chloe can be feisty and high strung, but she wasn't that way with O at all.  Chloe even SHARED Baby's stroller with her...and we all know that Chloe doesn't typically share anything related to baby. 

I joked to Sassy that Chloe must feel O's sweet and gentle spirit and it must calm her.

And, then there is Sassy's youngest boy, who did nothing but smile and look adorable the entire afternoon.  I could have eaten him right up!

If you want to read more about Sassy's vacation and our meet up you can go here. 

I believe the Lord sometimes works people in to your life for different reasons.  Whether I've met my friends the conventional way or through the the wide world that is blogging and Internet social media, they all have a place and a purpose and just like the rest of my IRL friends, I'm thankful for them.

Happy Wednesday, Y'all!