Miller time!

We had a visit from our dear friends Jackie and Sophia Miller this past week for a few days. We went to Washington Park, headed to the coast for a couple days, played Pirates and robots a lot and just had a great time all around! Nicolas and Sophia are about 8 days apart in age with Nicolas being the older one. They met each other when they were only about 8 months old and have been friends ever since. I was lucky enough to have Jackie in my life while living in Arizona, she is a dear friend and really made living in Arizona somewhat fun! Since moving up to Washington we have stayed in touch and visited a few times. Each time the kids have gotten along great and it felt like we never left! Now that they are four years old, things are a little different. Sophia is more interested in Drew than Nicolas, they are a boy and a girl so each has a different idea of what is fun (ie: My little Ponies or Incredible Hulk?), and they can communicate now a heck of a lot better than when they were one and two! So, there were times during the visit that I was wishing we were back at the sweet innocent age of two, and they communicated in kinder, less sharp ways with one another. Boy, what a difference a gender makes is all I can say. Sophia is one of those kids that does not have a lot of boundries and Nicolas spent a lot of the visit wondering why she got to have chocolate milk before bed, stay up late, and get away with a lot more than he ever has. It was frustrating for him that she didn't take her shoes off before going in the house, drink her juice only in the kitchen, or know the difference between a BMW and a Toyota! You know, I just have to say, we all have different parenting styles and what works for some, may not work for others, but put two different styles together and some of the kids might get confused! Needless to say, by the end of the trip Drew and Sophia were playing school, and Nicolas was helping Stan work on a seat for one of the BMW's!! So, the moral of the story is, next time, maybe just plan a trip with your girlfriends and leave the kids at home!

The friends we make in life change over time, some remain, some don't. I hope that these two will always remember each other, and over time the differences will not matter.