Happy Birthday To You!

About five years ago we were living in a small, two bedroom apartment in Richland. Nate was working as an intern for Battelle and going to school at WSU part-time. Kenzie had just barely turned two. Natalie was a distant future that I didn't like to think about. You know, getting pregnant again. I was serving as the Relief Society secretary in Richland's Riverview ward with the most wonderful presidency. The managers in our apartment complex were LDS and the complex itself was one of those low-income kind. Seeing this combination of management and low rent you can see how this complex quickly became an LDS newlywed community. It was such a fun place to live at the time. It seems like every building had at least two or three young LDS families living in them. We made lots of fun friends.

At one of the ward activities we were able to meet another young couple who had just moved here from Utah. Gregg was doing an internship at Battelle, also. He was taking a semester off from BYU for the experience. Amber was pregnant with their first. When I found out that they, too, were here without family living close by, I decided to invite them over for Easter dinner the next weekend. We ended up really hitting it off. Gregg is hilarious and lighthearted and easy to be around. Amber is equally fun and lighthearted, as well as, having a heart of gold. We spent the next summer doing just about everything together. We went on camping trips and road trips and on lots of park trips. They taught us how to play frisbee golf and we played games at night after Kenzie would go to bed. We had movie nights and dinner at each other's houses often. Kenzie fell in love with Gregg and Amber. She lived in a world completely surrounded with thoughts of Dora the Explorer. Every trip to the park turned into an adventure to the spooky jungle or the noisy river. I'm sure we scared Gregg and Amber into the reality of what they were entering into. A toddler has that effect on newly expecting parents. At least she was cute and loved them to death.

At the end of the summer, I ended up getting pregnant with Natalie and we were able to move a building over to a three bedroom. I started getting sick before my pregnancy test ever showed a positive. Amber and Gregg were there to help us move and get settled. To this day, I blame Amber for helping me get just crazy enough to get pregnant again. Pregnancy looks good on her. She could go anywhere and do anything pregnant. I had a hard time keeping up with her! She fooled me into believing that I could do it again, it might not be so hard after all. :-) So I guess Natalie can thank Amber for helping her get here. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end...or at least change, anyway. Gregg had to get back to BYU for the fall and so his internship came to an end. We had to say our goodbyes.

We still look back on that summer so fondly. Amber and I still keep in touch and when we get the chance to see each other again, it always easily falls back into that fun, close relationship that we had five years ago. I love friends like that. She finally started a blog a couple months ago and I've been so enjoying getting to see a little more into her world so far away. We tried to get them to come back here to the Tri-cities, but their hearts and family are in Utah. Maybe someday we'll end up there? Probably not, but I'll never say never. :-)

Today is Amber's birthday. So, here's to one of the best friends I've ever had! I hope you have a wonderful day today, Amber. Love you tons!