Our weekend.

This past weekend I woke up with the urge to phone a friend of mine whom I hadn't seen since moving to New Jersey. Six years seems like a long time, but when I saw her it was as if I had seen her yesterday (love friendships like that!) I have always wanted to visit her since moving to jersey but our schedules just never connected. She's a planner, and I'm not so every time my family and I would go to to the temple I wouldn't call her because our temple trips would be spontaneous and for one day only. Luckily we had the entire weekend plus one day (Jon is off on Mondays so far) to drive to Virginia (and go to the temple) and spend a couple of days with her. 

And I'm so glad I did! 

Before we arrived to Dominique's we hung out in Capitol Hill for a while, and went to the farmers market, and ate some delicious dogs at DC-3. This is when I wish we didn't live hours away so that I could buy flowers, fruits, and vegetables to take home! Even though I live in the "garden state" it's still nice to buy, and try fruits from other areas. I'm afraid that if I bought flowers they would wilt on the way home, and the fruit would go bad. Maybe not the veggies, but I still didn't want to take that chance. So I left with nothing. 

We just love venturing out in Capitol Hill. There are so many places to eat, and we love trying new foods. Here are a few photos from our weekend. Sorry if it's an overload. There are many more pics to post, but will probably write  about them, and post them tomorrow.

^^^ Best hot dogs on Capitol Hill ^^^

^^^ Can you tell he wasn't enjoying it?" He just chowed on that hot dog like there was no tomorrow! ^^^

^^^ The best part of eating here for Noah was the fact that there was a propeller on the wall! He loves planes! ^^^

^^^ Farmers market haul ^^^

^^^ Love these sunflowers. Wished I could have brought some home with me. I think they would have survived. ^^^

^^^ city bikes. ^^^ 

^^^ The navy yards barracks. ^^^

^^^ Walking down the street, and checking out the flea market. ^^^

^^^ selfie in front of a vintage mirror ^^^

Seeing Dominique was a sight for my sore eyes. It was so nice picking up where we left off. She was also one of the missionaries Jon served with over 23 years ago and that's how I met this lovely sister of mine. I swear I became friends with so many missionaries in Texas & till this day still keep in touch with some of them via Facebook. 

We had so much fun catching up, laughing, and just discussing matters of life. She also makes a mean kale salad. She was so sweet as to go to Costco and  buy all this delicious food to prepare meals for us every night we were there. She has officially become "Aunt Dominique" to my kids. The kids looooove her! 

One evening before dinner I caught Noah and Chelsea having a conversation with her as if they were adults. It was so cute hearing the words that were coming out of their mouth...especially Noah's. When we were figuring out who would bless the food Noah pointed to Dominique (he was sitting right beside her) and said "you say it." He then went on to point at every single one of us saying, "not Chelsea, not Lexie, not mommy, and not daddy. Dominique, you say it." And so she did. It was so cute. You really had to be there to hear, and see the cuteness. 

There was one night when I was sitting in the tv room with the kids & can hear Jon & Dominique in her foyer talking about their mission and who got married to who, and what happened to so and so, and who's passed on, and is she or he Facebook friends with you (no, it wasn't gossip.) I loved that they were both in deep conversation reminiscing about their mission. 23 years later, and they still remember. That's one thing I love about my missionaries is that whenever any of them get together they all have to bring up their mission stories, and I love it. That's how you know a missionary loved their mission is by how they talk about it, and how they would do it all over again! I also love that Jon gets along with all of my girlfriends, and that my friends are his friends and vice versa. I enjoyed going to her ward, and meeting more of our brothers, and sisters. The church is true no matter where we go, and that's the best part of going out of town too. You can always find a chapel in every state, and almost in every town. 

This weekend was soooo nice, and we had so much fun. I think my favorite part of this trip, and visit with Dominique was going to the temple with her. The kids love the temple grounds, and we could have been there all day!  

It. Never. Gets. Old.

^^^ Barefoot on the temple grounds. ^^^

^^^ My light, light brown, messy haired little boy! ^^^

 ^^^ A bee on a flower, and beautiful flowers on the temple grounds. ^^^

^^^ Lexie loves taking pictures with her "new" camera. (We gave her ours.) ^^^

^^^ Just another family picture without Sierra (insert frown face here) for our posterity. ^^^

One thing I learned about this trip is that I never want to take any of my friends for granted. Especially the ones that I have known for years, and years. I have been living in Jersey for six years now, and not once did I really make an effort to see Dominique until now. Shame on me, and I know she felt the same way. Life is short, and the friends we made long ago, and still have today are the best kind. The ones that love, and forgive, and don't judge you for your past, or present mistakes are the ones you never want to let go of. The ones that will pick up the phone the second you call, and the minute they say hello you say to them, "I really need to see a familiar face, and I'd like to come see you", and don't even hesitate, but to say to you, "I'm so glad you called, please come on over" are the truest of friendships. If you have those friendships cherish them, and take care of them because they are very rare to find nowadays. Especially at my age! 

Thank you Dominique for your friendship, and most of all for your hospitality in sharing our weekend with you. You are a wonderful friend, and sure have missed you. I thank you for everything, and I mean everything! The kids love that Soda Stream! We will definitely plan on making more trips to visit you, and know you are always welcome in our neck of the woods too!

We love Virginia, and we love you! We will see you again soon...especially since Chelsea forgot the LOVE pillow you gave her!