Sarah Briggs came to visit!

I can think of no better way to spend Memorial Day than with Sarah Briggs and friends. She and Ben drove down from Chicago to spend the day with us. Both of us are so busy going all over the place all summer long that we knew we wouldn't get a chance to see each other again until August. So she drove many hours to see some of her favorite people.

We finally choose 3 Wiseman for lunch, waited patiently for a seat, carefully selected our foods to share and then dove in. Mary Ellen was in love with the loaded potato chips and Ben was the biggest fan of the pizza sticks. Michelle, Sarah and I thought they both were pretty great. We all shared two pizza and drank several Ball jars of Diet Pepsi (I know...) and Dr. Pepper.

Because we were so full and because it was so hot outside we couldn't imagine doing anything but coming back into the air conditioning and just sitting together. I love that we don't need a game or activity or series of events to keep us all busy--we really like just being together.

A little later we ventured to the Nickevich's memorial cookout which was a porch party by the time we arrived. We love this porch. You can't tell from this picture, but Sarah and I are sitting on a giant porch swing that can fit five people across. Everyone gathers in chairs here and sets up camp talking and laughing for hours, leaving only for refills of ice water or another bite of Marlin's pie. The boys played bocce ball in the yard and Jack convinced Ben to help him plant a tree.

Before we knew it the day had turned into night and Orange Leaf beckoned us. When you are a frequent visitor of self-serve frozen yogurt you learn to give yourself conservative portions but I admired Ben's go-big-or-go-home mentality as he filled his bowl to the top with yogurt, covered it with strawberries and topped it off with a gummy worm. And you know what? He finished every bite.

Days like today with your best friends are my favorite kind of days. I'm so glad that a year after Sarah moved to Chicago she is still such a huge part of our lives. I don't know what we would all do without her.