make new friends / but keep the old …

I’ve had a great time meeting new friends in the places we’ve lived the past couple of years, but there’s something about old friends that is just so … comfortable. Sometimes I really miss being face-to-face with a friend who’s known me longer than a few months, who I am not worried about offending or scaring off with my weird humor. Someone who will tell me not to buy any more shoes.

I spent the last week visiting such friends — first in Ohio, as I was a bridesmaid in my friend Jennifer’s wedding. We met six years ago while working in Chicago, and while it wasn’t love at first sight, an awkward hayride brought us together and now we can’t go six months without one of us making the 8-12 hour drive to see the other.

Reaching even further back into my friend archive, we drove to visit the Bretzes in Indiana on our way home from the wedding. I don’t feel old enough to be able to vividly remember meeting someone a decade ago … but I do, and it’s Lauren. We’ve been great friends ever since, and this visit we even (unintentionally) coordinated our outfits again, just like old times. It’s so fun to have been friends through so many stages of life — awkward teenage years, early 20s, weddings, pregnancies, babies, more babies … I love it!

My camera wasn’t working in Ohio, but here are some pictures from our visit with Nat and Lauren and their adorable children.

Eli + Caleb: destined to be the best of friends. As soon as Eli stops hitting Caleb.

My little guy … love those knobby knees:

Blissfully unaware that Eli had just spat up carrots all over my shirt and pants:

Peter took this photo of Lauren + me:

Peter + Lillian took turns being the photographer for the group shots. We did a few with the timer, but I like these better.