Nebraska Visitors

My best friend from Ashley and her husband Neal visited us in Minnesota last month. Even though it's old news, I still want to take a minute to write about our fun weekend at the cabin! Ashley and her husband are so thoughtful by making an annual trip to the Twin Cities to visit.

Ashley is my childhood best friend dating all the way back to 1st Grade. I can still picture our desks pushed next to one another in Mrs. Justice's grade school classroom and I'll never forget the early years we spent together, bonding over spelling books and American Girl dolls (Ashley had many, I had none. Very deprived over here). We remained friends through Middle School when our lockers were near each other and became neighbors when my family moved a few houses away from Ashley's in the 8th Grade. We each lived on the opposite side of a shared street corner and many, many times "met in the middle" to hang out together. I'm pretty sure we watched every single episode of 90210 in her basement.

In college, Ashley and I went to college in different states. We were several hours away from each other, but always stayed in touch. She's one of the few people in life who just get me. We don't have to talk everyday to pick up right where we left off the last time.

Ashley went to Grad School in Omaha where she met our (now mutual) best friend Val. In some strange stars-aligning coincidence, Val and I both attended undergraduate at the same college and vaguely knew of one another there. Ashley met Val a few years later and suggested Val reach out to me when she moved to Minnesota a few years ago. Since then, Val has become one of my very dearest friends (and still remains a close friend of Ashley's, too). The three of us are lucky to have a strong friendships with one another, each different in its own way.

So! Ashley, Neal, Val, her husband Brionn and their two little ones, Kasen and Linden, traveled to our lake cabin to spend a weekend with us. Everyone arrived mid-day Friday and spent the evening relaxing outdoors in the beautiful fall air and playing catch-up with chatter about our lives.

Ashley, Tory and I

This was the first time Ashley had seen Tory since she was 3 weeks old and Neal's first time meeting Tory so it was really fun to see my best friend together with my daughter. Ashley and Neal are expecting a baby this November, so the weekend was perfect baby training for the expectant parents. If spending a weekend with 3 kids under the age of two isn't enough to prepare you, I don't know what is. No turning back now, friends!

 Kasen was adorable, as always, and loved to watch the fish swim in the water.

Kasen and Brionn

Tory loved Linden and kept giving her hugs. She was much more gentle with Linden this time, compared to just a few weeks prior. Tory Girl is such a Mother Hen and loves all types of babies - real and plastic ones!

Tory, Val and Linden

Every time Ashley and Neal visit Minnesota, the weather always seems to be too cold to do anything fun outdoors - even in the summertime. When they arrived on Friday afternoon, it was chilly jeans and sweatshirt weather, but Saturday turned out to be absolutely beautiful. We spent most of the day lounging around the cabin in between baby naps and feeding schedules.

Our favorite place to be ... floating on a raft in the lake.

Ashley and Neal

Saturday night, Andi attempted to cook Beer Can Chicken on the grill, but all the fat and dripping caused it to literally catch on fire. Eek! I went to put Tory down to sleep and when I came back, our plans had changed from grilling to pizza from the County Line Bar. 

On a side note, the chicken was actually fine once we pulled all the scorched skin off the outside. I used the meat in quesadillas and freezer meals the following week and it tasted delicious!

What a fun, relaxing weekend we all had at the cabin. Spending time with Ashley and Neal brings back so many memories of my childhood growing up, and we add to those memories every year. I hope this is a tradition we continue for many years to come.