our little man

6.14.2009

fun with the neighbors

we are really lucky to have a great family living next door to us. they have two little girls close in age to our kiddos (one is a year older than sophie, the other is right in the middle of sophie and ben) and they're all so easy going and fun to be around. we spend quite a bit of time together, particularly in the warmer months, and have even done some outings together - but somehow we've never done an actual meal together. so they invited us over for a cookout on saturday evening - we all figured that after literally years of talking about it, we needed to just do it spur of the moment when everyone was home and available.

we had the best afternoon - the kiddos were absolutely in heaven. sophie went over a little early while ben finished up his nap, and the rest of us headed over around 3:30 or so. we spent the whole afternoon playing, enjoyed a great dinner, and then cooked marshmallows around the fire and made smores. the kids played with bubbles, played on the swing set, chased each other around, and just laughed and played and laughed some more. we didn't head home until about 8:00, which is past their bedtimes. they needed quick baths, but then they both headed off to bed happily.

this was the first time that ben has been able to really join in with the three older kids. in the first year or two, a year can make a big difference - now he's definitely still younger, but not "the baby" anymore. he and renee (the girl closest to his age - only about nine months older) had a ball together. they were hilarious to watch and were just cracking each other up. i was so happy to see him getting involved and being a part of the group like that.

we're very fortunate to have such nice neighbors - where everyone gets along, kids and parents both. we'll certainly be inviting them over sometime to repay the meal, and hopefully we'll find a lot more time over the summer to get the kids together - they enjoyed it so much!

posted at 8:17 AM by aimee // 0 comments