Flashback: The Berens Kids Come for a Visit

"Can you come over to play?" A familiar phrase for most kids. I can't count the number of times I uttered this phrase when I was little . . . especially to my dearest childhood friend, Courtney. So many days, I'd rush home and call her number (the only phone number I had memorized . . . I didn't even know my own!) and ask if she could play. I'm sure we played together most days, even for just a short time between homework and dinner. Summers were marked by daily walks between our houses (only about six or so between them), time spent in our hidden tree fort, in "the peach room" at her house, or running through the sprinkler in our backyard.

We even made a yearly pilgrimage to my grandparents' home in Snohomish together. For a week every summer, we would have full reign over their house and their acres of open land. My grandma—whose birthday just happened to be yesterday and who I miss every day—would spoil us with kid cereals, soda, late nights, new Barbies, as many cookies as we wanted, and unending fun. We spent our days playing Barbies under the trees, playing in the old semi tires in my grandpa's big garage, inner tubing in the creek that ran through their yard, eating peas and raspberries in their garden, and chasing their small herd of cows in the acres behind the house. My grandma would play her organ for us as their dog, Tippy, sang his heart out on the front porch. Some of my favorite childhood memories were made in those weeks, and most of my favorite childhood memories involve my dear friend.

Flash forward to today. The weekend after Jonathan's birthday, we had a much-anticipated visit from Courtney and her FOUR kids. I seriously feel like I had been waiting for a weekend like this since we played with our Cabbage Patch Dolls together when we were their ages. The only way the weekend could have been any better is if Courtney's hubby, Wade, had been able to join us. But with work and beer-making responsibilities keeping him at home, we made the most of every moment and had a blast. :)

*Note: Lots of pictures in this post. I think I had about 30 picked to share at one point . . . the weekend was that much fun!

Courtney, Emma, Jack, Sam and Rozella (or Zella) made the trek to Eugene from Hood River on Friday morning, arriving in the early afternoon. The fun started immediately. The Berens kids are crazy creative—just like their parents (if you could see the drawing that is still on the back of my old closet wall you'd know that Courtney's creativity started when she was very young). We dove right in to some painting time.

Emma was inspired by one of Jonathan's fall creations—a handprint tree with fingerprint leaves. She decided that her fall tree would be captured on a stormy day.

Zella (just two months older than Jonathan) wanted all pinks and purples for her creations. She's already quite the artist! (Art smock props go to Jonathan's Great Grandma Norma—a gift for his birthday the week before.)

I was completely amazed at how many pieces of really incredible artwork these kids cranked out in only a matter of minutes. Jonathan is a pretty good little painter, but I think it would take me two months to get out of him all that they created in only about an hour!

That evening before dinner, we headed to a nearby school playground to give the kids some time to burn energy. It was so cold and a bit wet, but that didn't slow down their fun. They ran loops around us. Jonathan and Zella are just the right size for each other!

I had to take the opportunity to grab some pics of Courtney and kids. They were all so cute after running around.

After everyone had turned into popcicles, we headed home for a birthday party remix complete with Mickey hats, Mickey favors, Mickey tattoos, birthday cake, spaghetti and meatballs, and movie night! It reminded me of our countless slumber parties when we were their ages.

After dinner, everyone cuddled up on the couch together (with popcorn in hand) for a showing of "How to Train Your Dragon."

Not everyone made it all the way through, but they sure had fun trying!

Saturday morning brought lots of energy after a good night of sleep. It was time for the fun to begin! Before we could even get pancakes on the table, the kids were already on their way to having a great day together. They took turns driving Jonathan's favorite car, and even found themselves in an all-out race with each other around the kitchen island.

After breakfast, we got ready for our day outing. Before we left, the kids had to go frog hunting in the yard. Sam found this little guy.

But before they got too attached to their new friends, it was time to head to the Mount Pisgah Arboretum in Springfield for our big event . . . the Youth in Nature "Play in the Rain Day." I searched online for something fun (and free) to take the kids to that weekend and thankfully stumbled across a listing for this event. It was perfect! I could do a whole album of pictures just from our time there.

Our first stop: each kid had a chance to sit in the driver's seat of a fire engine! You can imagine how excited Jonathan was about it. I think he spent more time in there than any of the other kids at the event!

Cuteness out exploring the floor of the forest.

The kids had a chance to roast marshmallows and hot dogs at a big bonfire. They all did a great job! I was a little worried about how Jonathan would be, but his skills proved to me that he's definitely ready to go camping this spring and summer! The stickiness on these boys is just too adorable. They had a blast. Jack is a pro roaster. He may have a career in it someday. :)

A mama and her baby girl — aren't they just so cute together? It's hard for me to believe that Courtney was Zella's age when she and I became friends. (By the way . . . Courtney's hair is usually the color of Emma's, but I'm in love with the red! She got the idea from a mom she saw when she and Wade were in Ireland last October. She decided to give it a go. It's perfect for her personality and is so much fun!)

Beautiful Emma. It's so hard to believe that she's 9! Seems like just yesterday I was throwing her baby shower. One of my favorite things about their visit was the time that Emma and I had to ourselves. We had some really fun conversations. It was such an amazing experience to chat over tea (yes, she drinks tea) about life and share stories about her mom when she was her age (don't worry, Courtney—I was nice ;)). I hope I have many more times with her like that. It was so special to me.

"Play in the Rain Day" was such a blast that I wanted to share more pictures than I felt would be reasonable to post, so I made a little collage to share. What were the highlights of the day? Nature crafts, learning about wetlands, roasting marshmallows, Jonathan's first experience with a fire hose (though it doesn't show how close he got to spraying me!), big bites of roasted hot dogs, stamping animal tracks, making wood necklaces and leaf rubbings, etc. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect event for the day. The weather was perfect, it was free, and there was something for everyone. They even had pack horses, raptors, tree climbing, and more. Truly an amazing day.

 

When we got back to the house, it was time to warm up with some tea, for the little ones to have some rest time, and for more painting.

And before we knew it, it was time to say good bye. It was hard enough to end a play date with Courtney (or Courn as I have always affectionately called her) when we were little. You can imagine how hard it was to say good bye at the end of this play date.

The Berens clan, sans Wade, ready to head back to Hood River. Don't you love Zella's Superman jammies? Jonathan definitely needs a pair of those!

Of course Jonathan had to give kisses . . . I mean, what's a visit to the Cohn's without kisses from JD? He is, after all, a pretty fantastic little kisser. Zella and Emma both obliged. So so sweet. Too early to talk wedding plans? :)

One of my favorite things about being back in the Northwest? Being closer to my best friends. Courtney is truly like my sister . . . she has been with me through thick and thin since our earliest memories. We've shared more with each other over our 30+ years of friendship than I can ever document. She is the closest thing I have to a sister, and I love these four crazy kids like they were my own nieces and nephews. I can't wait for our next visit, and our next, and our next . . . .