Best Friends For Life

I am the luckiest.  You want to know why.  I have had the same best friend for 30 years. Every year on Christmas day she flies out here from Florida to spend a week with us.  The kids love it so much and they think that her kids are their cousins. I never correct them.  In fact my whole family looks at her like another sister.  Christmas day is special but her arrival makes it even more so.  Her girls have taken up skiing and her oldest has gotten quite good.  So we spend a lot of time up at the ski resorts.  The kids all ski and we sit inside and drink hot chocolate.  It works quite well.  
Let me tell you about Angela.  You'll never meet anyone more giving or generous.  She is loyal to a fault, hence the friends for 30 years.  I'm sure she should have kicked me to the curb many times, but she never would.  She never speaks unkindly about anyone, ever.  Trust me, I've tried.  She has the patience of a saint and I have never heard her raise her voice.  And trust me, I can be quite a brat.  I absolutely deserved to be yelled at more than once.  Anyway, I'm pretty lucky she has been by my side during this life.  I'm certain God knew what he was doing when he crossed our paths.  
So this is our winter holiday tradition.  Every year she arrives and we do as many snow activities as we can before they head back to the warmth of Florida, and I am left here to freeze.  
We did three ski days while they were here. 

One of the ski days turned into a small blizzard while the kids were out.  The little girls lessons were even canceled half way through.  But that did not stop Halle and Brian. They kept at it, getting pelted by wind and snow. 

This was the last ski day.  It was freezing outside so only Halle was willing to brave the elements.

This year we decided to travel up to Idaho and go to Lava Hot Springs.  We didn't know much about it.  We made the mistake of going into their indoor pool first and once the kids saw the play structure we were stuck.  So we never made it to the outdoor pools.  Maybe next year.  It was still fun driving up there.  It was such a cute little town.

We spent New Years Eve at my sisters house.  She got really sick so Angela and I ended up helping her get the party ready.  It was quite an adventure.  We did a fondue party and I have to say the food was amazing.  We all ate way too much.

We also went sledding while we were at her house.  She has the best hill in her neighborhood.  

It is always so hard to say goodbye.  Kya cried all the way home. 

The time always goes so fast when they are here. I've already convinced Halle to come back in the summer and that she should go to college here.  Her parents can thank me later.  

Oh and if you are wondering, yes we all stayed in Millie together.  It actually worked pretty well.  We stayed here for six of the nights.  We kept busy during the day and everyone stayed nice and cozy at night.  We did run out of propane one night and our hot water malfunctioned a couple of times, oh and our toilet backed up, but overall it was a fun adventure.  

Miles of Love,

Stacey