"Friends Forever"

(Graduation) by Vitamin C

As we go on,
We remember
All the times we
Had together

And as our lives change,

From whatever

We will still be

Friends Forever

A couple of weeks ago I had a "friends' shower" at my Mom's house. One of my closest friends, Aubrey, threw the shower for me with my mom. She is such a great friend and I was so grateful for her for throwing the shower for me. Considering she just moved, just had a newborn baby, and just went back to work fulltime, it's pretty amazing she found the time to do this for me. She also made the above "Diaper Cake" for me for the shower. It was SOO cute! Totally impressive too--I didn't know she had such an artistic side to her--although I guess I should've known because her old house was decorated SO cute--I'm sure she'll do the same for her new house when she gets one! She also brought those 2 cute bottles full of candy including (my favorite) PINK Starbursts! Anyway, I have the "Diaper Cake" now set up in the baby's bedroom as one of the main focal points of the room. :) You'll see pictures of it in the room soon, once the shelves are up--which is the last step to finishing it up! It's super cute!

My mom did a ton for this shower and I was so impressed and proud of her. She has done so much for me lately; she is so great! She made almost all the food, did the game, decorated, etc. She also has made me multiple blankets for the baby, is making me a new cover for my glider cushions, and just made me an adorable table runner for Halloween--and keep in mind she has 3 other daughters who she is constantly helping out with babysitting and more. She is superwoman!

Anyway, this picture is "the spread" of the food at the shower. If you're wondering what the closest green and pink things are...the next picture is an upclose. :)

These are the "ribbon sandwiches" my mom made for the shower. I must admit I was a little weary of how they'd turn out...especially once I saw how vibrant the colors of the dyed bread were. I will also admit though, they were a big hit. I think more people ate those than anything else and they were delicious too! Mmm...just looking at them makes my mouth water. Seriously, they were way good!Here I am with my old boss at the preschool, Terri. It was really sweet of her to come all the way up to the shower from Draper. Here I am with my friend Chelsie. Chels and I went to jr. high and high school together. Although we were always "friends" we never really became close until senior year. She is really one of my greatest friends--one of those ones you KNOW you could always count on if you really needed someone. I regret wasting those 5 years that we knew eachother before becoming close friends, but I'm glad we're friends now. She also brought her two adorable little girls to the shower. It was really fun to get to see them!Here I am with one of my "China Girls," Taren. I love Taren! She is such a great girl and such a good friend. I am so glad I had her in my group in China and that I got to know her there. She's definitely one of those "friends forever" kind of girls. I love and miss all my "China Girls!" (Okay, just as a side note, please keep in mind that I am 8 months pregnant in these pictures! I keep looking at myself next to all these cute girls and feel a little...less than gorgeous.)

Here I am with Aubrey. Seriously, check her out! That girl just had a BABY two months before this picture was taken and she already looks this thin and gorgeous! Anyway, it's crazy to think she's already a Mommy and that I am going to be one soon too. It seems as though we tend to go through "stages of life" at the same time. College--dropping out of college--marriage--babies, etc. It's been really fun growing up with her and remaining so close over the years. Although she lived far away most of the time when we were young I was DETERMINED to stay close with her. I was telling Mike the other day that when we were in 7th and 8th grade she lived in Oklahoma and we used to have "AOL Dates" every Sunday night where we'd get online and chat on IM. I always knew she'd be an important friend to keep and I was not going to give that up at any cost. I am so glad we've stayed close forever.Here I am with Aubrey, Brittney, and Makelle. The 4 of us became friends in jr. high (obviously I was friends with Aubrey before that) and even though Makelle went to a different high school, we've stayed friends ever since. I love these girls! It's really fun to have a group of friends who gets along so well AND to have our husbands get along great too. It's been a lot of fun to be able to grow up together!Here I am with Megan. (Seriously...I think I'm bigger than two of her!) Anyway, Meg is such a great friend and I've really missed seeing her more often. Last semester we had a bunch of classes together at BYU and it was so much fun to get to spend so much time with her--and it made school a lot better too. Unfortunately I am not going to school this semester (for obvious reasons) so I don't get to see her nearly as much. We still try to get together weekly although we fail miserably a lot. Anyway, she really is such a wonderful friend and has been there for me through everything. She also called my mom when she got her invitation to the shower to see if there was anything she could do to help. She made some fabulous chocolate-Rolo cookies, and also helped my mom out with the game. It was so sweet of her to help. When I graduated from high school my mom and I and Megan and her mom went to Puerto Vallarta together for our "senior trip" (although Meg had graduated the year previous). Because of that trip, our moms grew especially close too. Now my mom considers Sharon (Meg's mom) to be one of her very best friends and our dads have become really close too. I am so blessed to have Megan as a friend and I am so glad that my mom now has a close friend like Megan for herself! :) Meg also got married this year to a great guy and it's so fun to get together alone and with our husbands because that means we really can be friends forever!

With all the shower decor, my mom also put up this picture of me as a baby. I just thought I'd include it as a glimpse of maybe a little of what our baby girl will look like (but of course with a little more Mikeishness!) :)