Thursday, July 23, 2015

NYC

Twenty years ago four friends embarked on an adventure. We sponsored a band trip to NYC with two hundred plus teenagers. The "yellow dogs" were boarded...headed first to Washington D. C. to play on the steps of the Capital...then on to New York City to march in the Macy's Day Thanksgiving Parade. That journey logged about seventy-two hours on a school bus. During that time we decided we really liked each other. Thank goodness! Lots of giggling, many memorable moments forged the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Later on the return home we began meeting at Denny's to share pictures. Yes, they had to be developed...and you had to wait! One thing led to another...shopping trips, movie nights, and before long we planned a get away trip once each summer. 

We have shared graduations, moving kids to college, weddings and sadly divorce. We've buried parents and celebrated the birth of grandchildren. We have laughed and cried together. In the past years we have shared mountain top highs and unspeakable pain. Now we know way too much about each other. We have to be friends. 

So...this year marked the twentieth anniversary of that infamous bus ride. We decided to return to the city where it all began. It was a different trip to be sure. We are different. Older, slower, fluffier, with a few battle scars making the trip a bit more challenging. BUT...we are still the fab four! We know how to laugh and create fun wherever we go. I love these three women. They are the sisters I never had...but surely they are the sisters of my heart. They love me even when I am acting ugly. They know when my heart is broken without me saying one word. They are the first to know when there is news to celebrate. They pray for me...and with me. What a blessing their friendship has
been through the years.  

Me...with Kathy, Donna, and Marsha


The famous fab four foot shot! 

My first grandbaby! Miss Shelby Grace...

My first grandbaby! Miss Shelby Grace...
Gabby holding Shelby...what a little baby doll!

Second grandbaby! Miss Emma Grace!

Second grandbaby! Miss Emma Grace!
More than I can say "Grace" over... :)

Shelby

Shelby
Watering Daddy Bob's tree

Princess Shelby

Princess Shelby
Castles and ponies!

Princess Emma

Princess Emma
Tutus and feathered crowns...