BFFs.

I remember those first few days after arriving in good old Provo, Utah to attend BYU. It was exciting, but also quite scary and overwhelming. One of the first nights in the dorms, I met Jen and Brittney, two cute Texans who lived just down the hall. We sat in the hallway and chatted for a while, and I remember going to bed thinking they just might be some fun friends.

Was that seriously 11 YEARS ago??? Since those first days of freshman year, we had so much fun together studying, dating, breaking up, more dating, more breaking up, getting our degrees, getting married, etc. etc. And now we all have supported husband through medical school, have had multiple children, and we all reside in Texas!

Brittney, Jen plus kids came down for a visit over the Fourth of July, and we've decided to make our get-together a yearly tradition.

There were nine kids present (Isla is napping here), and nap times and bed times went unbelievably smoothly! Everyone got along well. Carson and Kate were like two peas in a pod, running around creating games like, "Hide and Read." Trevor and Isla crawled around, following each other into the bathroom to make sure there was enough water in the toilet.

We had a talent show one night, with some lovely dancing by Kate and Jane!

A lovely morning on the Fourth of July.

Making matching shirts on the Fourth.

Rick was home during the evenings and on the Fourth, so we kept saying we were going to go do something fun while he babysat. But each night we ended up just chilling on the couch chatting. Most conversations started with, "Hey, remember so-and-so?? Whatever happened to him??" Followed by a facebook search. I do have some of the best ever memories with these girls. I mean, we all watched and listened and gave advice while we were dating and deciding to marry our HUSBANDS!

This photo shoot was terrible. Rick was a patient photographer, but I don't think any of us had spent much time on hair or make up, so obviously we weren't going to be happy with any of the pictures.

Breakfast on the last day. I felt so empty after they all left!! Until next year...