Quality Time

In the five + years Cody and I have been married, we have moved five times. As a result, we have been blessed with wonderful friends from different times and places in our lives. Being with family and friends is by far my favorite way to spend time; I love to sit and chit chat, swap stories, and laugh until we almost pee our pants. Obviously, my love language is quality time. (To find out yours, click here http://www.5lovelanguages.com/assessments/30-second-quizzes/; then let me know what it is in the comments!) Consequently, I spent the last month chasing around Utah trying to meet up with as many of the people I love as possible.

Most importantly we were able to spend a lot of time with family, Cody's and mine.

We had great times eating out, playing games, seeing movies, decorating, throwing parties, and just being together--all the things that I love to do! I love my family so much, so the best part was seeing how much they love Jadyn and how much she loves them.

We went swimming, shopping, skiing/snowboarding, and played in the snow with Cody's family. Best of all Jadyn was able to meet her cute cousin, Paisley, and we were even there for her baby blessing! Once again I was reminded of how lucky I am to have such great in-laws. I feel so at home with them and part of the family.

I have the best cousins ever (oh, and aunts and uncles). On both sides. Some of my greatest memories are from playing with the cousins when we were growing up.

The Lemon side had a Christmas party the day after we landed in Utah. Then a couple weeks later we had a girls' night--there are approximately 25 cousins on that side, 5 of which are male. You can tell we are related because we are right in sync when it comes to humor and sarcasm.

A lot of the Sutherland cousins are living all over the States now, but we were lucky enough to see most of the Jenkins family. Though we had a great time catching up as we ate pizza at Marsha's, I wish all the cousins could get together again and play dragon on Grandpa's stairs like the good old days!
"The girls," as we have affectionately termed ourselves, met up at Lyns' for a little Christmas party. Life has changed so much since the carefree days of high school, but I still always love seeing my girls, and the connection I feel with them will never fade.

My favorite year in college was when I was living with these ladies (and you too, Em and Stacey, even if you weren't there for this pic). For old-time's sake, we met up at our favorite place to eat in college: Firehouse Pizzeria. Then we talked and talked and talked until we realized it was way past closing time.

When Cody was getting his MBA at Thunderbird, we bonded immediately with several other couples that were in our same situation. A lot of us are from Utah, so we all met up for dinner and bowling while we were all visiting family for the holidays.

My dearest friend, Amy, saved my life my first year of college. We were quick friends and had the best times together. Now we have kids exactly one month apart who we brought together for a couple play dates. They even love me so much they came to say goodbye the day we left (okay, maybe I made them, but hey, it still meant a lot to me).

Tiffany is one of our great friends from Thunderbird. Other classmates called Cody and her husband, Dave, twins--they were inseparable their first semester. Naturally, Tiffany and I also became instant and close friends. She is the best shopping partner, so we met up at the mall to get some of my USA-goods-checklist crossed off.

In 9th grade I was fortunate enough to meet Sarah. I was transitioning between friends and she was the best thing that could have happened to me. We have been close ever since. As she just purchased a condo, I went over for a complete tour and we sat and chatted for hours.

After I graduated with my Master's, I started my first job as an auditor at Tanner LC. Kelli was my trainer. Being the only two girl-auditors in the office, and having a ton in common, we hit it off real fast. Now we have daughters just days apart, so we had a great time catching up while they played at Discovery Gateway.

During my junior and senior years of high school I was in student government with one of the most incredible people I know, Anna. Anyone that knows her instantly admires her. We spent an evening eating Thai and having heartfelt conversation, which was much needed and therapeutic for both of us. (My one regret is I forgot to get a picture of the two of us.)

Growing up we had several families in our neighborhood that were basically an extension of our own. We even went on family vacations together every year. We threw a "reunion" party at my mom's to get everyone together again. My favorite part about spending time with these people is we can still act like we are 12 and no one bats an eye.

My best friend from Phoenix moved from Mesquite to Heber days before I left. She put everything on hold just so we could have a girls day, even though they had already driven all the way up to Farmington to visit while Cody was still in town. Her husband even watched the kids. We got pedicures and she introduced me to sushi (I was too scared until this point to try it, but must say I quite enjoyed it). Then we spent hours sharing stories, laughing, and crying--just as we always do when we are together. She is the best!


The last month was incredibly therapeutic and satisfying. It felt so good to see the people I hold so dear. Being across the world has made me feel like my most meaningful relationships have been weakening, but this last month has confirmed to me that I will always have and feel a special bond with these true friends. The type we can go awhile without speaking, but when we are together the lost time fades and we pick up where we left off. These are the strong relationships for which I am so grateful. Without such wonderful people in my life, I certainly would not have the happiness I enjoy. I still feel so much love and closeness even though I'm on the other side of the world. Thank you to all who took time to see me. It really meant the world to me. I love you all so much!!!

Disclaimer: I was gone from home (as in Taiwan) for five weeks, three of which were without Cody. I truly missed Taiwan and our friends here, but I missed Cody terribly. As much as I love my dear friends and family, I, of course, love him more. I'm so grateful for how hard he works for our family and the massive amounts of stress he deals with for us, for his diligence in the gospel, and his love for Jadyn and me. I love him so much. As long as I am with him, I don't care where I am (but thanks for letting me stay and play for so long anyway). :)