Happy Birthday Wade!

All our Hone family got together again this year at my parents' house, to remember Wade's birthday. He would have turned 44 this week. It was a really special time, being together and remembering some of our best memories with him. :-)

I should have taken more pictures, but the only ones I got were these cute ones of my mom and Camille, decorating the great big chocolate cake we all ate together. Wade would have loved it! His favorite!!

All my brothers went on a hiking trip, up in the back country behind the Sawtooth Mountains. Brian even got to join them at the last minute. (He was thinking he would likely miss, due to his work schedule. But things changed and got less busy, so he got to go! Yay! ) The pictures they took of that beautiful scenery are pretty stunning! Looks like a great place to be.

While they were gone, all of us moms stayed at my parents' house and around there, and got together each day to do fun stuff with the kids. We all went to see a movie one day. Melissa got some free matinee tickets for us. Everyone really enjoyed it, especially Camille, who spent the entire time in the lobby, rolling around on the floor…

The next day, we went to a kids art fair in the park, up in Idaho Falls. They had lots of fun painting and crafting projects for the kids.

The last night we were there, my mom was kind enough to watch the kids for me, so I could go out on a special date with my two best girlfriends from high school – – Amber and Kerri. So much fun!! We celebrated all three of our 40th birthdays, since we all have birthdays within a month of each other. We went out to dinner, then drove around Blackfoot to all our old sites, even swinging on the swings at Casey Park. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time, maybe since the last time we all got together. :-)

Through the years, I have sometimes taken it for granted how good I had it growing up. But looking back, I am extremely grateful for these two amazing best friends in my life. From grade school on up, we three were always together! In high school, people used to joke that they didn't know which of us was which, but if they just said Amber Kamber and Kerri all at once, they'd be covering their bases! :-) 

We had our ins and outs, our insecurities, and growing pains, of course. But we really helped each other stay strong and grounded in our mutual faith and love of the Savior, Jesus Christ. We also helped each other grow up, laughing at life's craziness and unpredictability. Our friendship is the kind where we pick up exactly where we left off, every time we see each other – – whether it's been a week, month, or even a couple of years. Looking at these two wonderful, beautiful ladies, I know without a doubt how extremely blessed I am!

We got home from my parents' house late last night, and Brian was unloading his stuff from the camping trip. We were all tired, and went to bed in a bit of a frenzy. But I woke up this morning feeling great amounts of gratitude for the wonderful people in my life, both friends and family, my greatest treasures.