best friends forever

arkansas isn't exactly the number one destination of most humans, so when anyone comes to visit it is a real treat!

in july we were lucky enough to be visited by not one, but TWO of my favorite ladies in the entire world! 

carolina and her kiddos were driving from missouri to dallas texas for a reunion and made a pit stop here for lunch. words can't even describe how good it was for my soul to reconnect with caro! when i think of florida and all that i miss from my home, carolina is one of the first people i think of. she is my hero in so many ways and i always feel like there hasn't been any time that has passed when we get together because we pick up right where we left off (except for maybe the fact that her kids are big kids now and not babies anymore!!!).

we had lunch and then the kids played a few rounds of pie face before they had to hit the road again.

haha, louie's like "bring it!" in these two pictures!

so glad that ellie and sophie have been such sweet friends over the years.

it definitely wasn't a long enough visit, but it will have to hold us over until we can make it back to florida. thank you beards, we sure love you guys!

in mid july i got a text from carrie ann miller smith saying, "what are you guys up to next week?" which led to a 5 day visit!!! that basically means 5 days of partying!

we spent our time staying up way too late talking, going to the waterpark, carrie and the kids taught us how to letterbox, we went to the dollar movies, had dance parties, played outside, and all in all had a great time together!

nora and i were trying to take a nap, but decided that taking some silly pictures would be more fun :)

it was so extremely hot that week. so hot.

while trying to letterbox, we decided to make a quick stop at mcdonalds for ice cream. 

it was so hot outside that the ice cream started to melt before the lady in the drive thru even handed it to me through the window. we had to lick like mad!

charlie decided he didn't want his because it wasn't chocolate so ellie got two.

carrie took these and they were just so funny that i had to post them even though i look ridiculous. i take ice cream eating very seriously.

we saw boss baby, even though carrie and i both detest alec baldwin, but it was the only thing besides baywatch at the dollar theater. surprisingly, we all enjoyed it! maybe it was because our expectations were very very low. but with friends and unlimited popcorn, we had some good laughs!

i know there was plenty more that we did that I'm not documenting, but this will have to do. it always amazes me how lucky i am to have the friends that i have. carrie and i have known each other since i was 17, our freshman year at byu-i. thats 15 years! she knows me better than i know myself and she is the best of the best. very blessed that our little ones love each other like cousins and that we live close enough to each other to make these experiences happen. thank you carrie, jackson, and nora for coming all the way from austin to visit us!!!