my heart hurts

and it's for a really good reason.

i know i said i wouldn't post til monday...but i want to get this out while my emotions are still raw.

we just had the MOST amazing 48 hours.
just full of friends...and not just friends...but FRIENDS.
that love us.
that love our kids.
that love our hearts.
and full of fun.
and laughter (!)
and yummy food and drink.

precious memories.
and they've all left and i've cried
and my heart hurts.
physically HURTS.

i don't think i realized how much i needed that.
but, man, i did.
and i soaked it UP.
and loved every minute.
and i'm so sad it's over.
but so very very thankful for the precious friends that we have in our lives.

here are some pictures.
this is one of my favorites...my other favorite is at the very end :-)

the ayer's arrived friday afternooon.
we so enjoyed the time with just them!
we don't get that very often!

the evening was full of fajita's on the porch, guacamole, margarita's, and just catching up!

cary is always SO great with my kids (ALL kids!) they love him so much!

cary and pat were friends and roommates in college...so we knew whoever he married one day, we would love. but leah has become a very good friend and i can't imagine not having her in my life! this picture is a treasure...

saturday morning we went for a little walk before all the festivities began.
sawyer and ellery were cute together in the stroller.

feeding the fish and ducks.


we might have encouraged this a little bit :-)

the fogarty's arrived soon after we got home and then the young's a little bit later!

the party was ON and we had a blast!
the kids played outside most of the time...in the little pool and with some games we set up.

leah and rebekah had a little "heart to heart" which was sweet for me to see!

and, of course, WATER BALLOONS!!!

the fogarty's newest blessing, ryan! SO cute!

we played some relay games.









and the classic - water balloon toss

the young's brought peyton's niece, emily, with them that is visiting.
we are trying to convince her to come to the beach with us at the end of the summer to help with the kids :-)
she was so sweet!




most of the time was spent on the porch talking and laughing (except when we were feeding a kid or cleaning up a mess or kissing a boo-boo or wiping a bottom...)


there were also some sports (soccer, tennis, bike racing) on tv that needed to be watched sometimes :-)


it was SUCH a fun day!
the ayer's and young's left and the fogarty's stayed overnight!

had a yummy breakfast...
these kids are all so cute together.
they really act like cousins.







owen slept with joshua last night on his bunkbed.
that was cute.
i love their relationship!

and my time with ali, as always, was so precious.
never enough time to get through everything we need to talk about...but i treasure every minute!

the 4 of us.
i think the last picture i have of the 4 of us was from right after we had joshua and owen...so about 6 years ago!

in college, pat and ej lived in the same house of boys and ali and i lived in the same house of girls. we were the 2 couples that came out of those 2 houses :-) it's a very special friendship all around...pat and ej...ali and i...and our kids...

my other favorite picture.
and NOW do you see why i am crying and my heart hurts???

it's a good thing we have a special evening ahead of us...

but the memories we have already made this weekend i am holding close...