a perfect weekend.

oh, i just love perfect weekends! you know the type of weekends i'm talking about. the ones where the weather is made to order and the company is superb? those kinds of weekends always go by way too fast, but they make the best of memories.

on friday night, leah had her friend, jamie, over to play. we ate dinner and the girls played forever outside while alana and i spent some quality time together. before i knew it, it was already 8:45pm and jamie was still at our house! we drove her home and then visited with her family for a while before finally calling it a night.

saturday was glorious!! we headed out that morning to our friend, barbie's son's baseball game. it was nice and warm and the sun was shining. i was having so much fun that i didn't realize exactly how much sun i was getting. i am sporting an awful sunburn that is just starting to blister today. oh the joys of summer! (not that i'm complaining.) after the ballgame (her son, a junior in high school, hit a triple!) we all ate at mcdonald's and then the girls and i headed home for a nap.

later that afternoon, the neighborhood kids landed in my backyard for a while. i absolutely LOVE that they come to our house to play. i love that they run across the street and let themselves into the backyard. i love to see my girls surrounded by their friends. eventually, we had to kick them out because my close friend sarah and her 3 kids showed up for dinner. sarah's husband was on a hunting trip and jas had to work, so we decided to order pizza, hang out, and talk while the kids ran wild. it was such a relaxing evening and our kids had a blast!

yesterday was an easy going day. after church, lunch, and naps, barbie's other son, ethan, came over to play while barbie and her husband, james ran an errand. they returned right as the kids had finished eating the pancakes i had made them for dinner, so barbie and james got to experience the super-secret family recipe for swedish pancakes. of course, they were immediate fans.

afterwards, we all headed to the creek to search for crawdads and play in the water. we had an absolutely amazing time!! the kids played, james searched for crawdads (and fetched alana's shoes when they drifted downstream), jas fished, and barbie and i chatted and looked at pictures. the water was freezing, but of course that didn't stop alana. one of the first things she did was take a dive right into the creek and let the current sweep her away. james commented that he had never met a kid like alana. i'd have to agree. i don't know anyone who squeezes every last ounce of joy out of each and every moment of life quite like her.

we stayed there for quite a while and then took a quick hike before heading to the cars. i could've stayed there longer, but it was getting late already. we had such a great time that we all agreed to make creek walks a sunday afternoon/evening tradition. here are some pictures from our time there.