the friend zone

We spent some time last year praying for friends.  I mean, I have friends coming out of my ears, but Nathan, Alli, and Ben all felt like even though they have cousins that are friends, they wanted more friends at school.  

The Lord heard our prayers!  This past year has been a good one.

First, there's Alli.  I mean, she doesn't know a stranger anyway, but she and Taylor are on their second year of friendship and they're going strong.  They even fight like sisters.

Taylor's family will often take Alli along on their getaways and adventures.  Here they're hot-tubbing in an adventure resort near Gatlinburg.  That's Taylor's little brother Weston.  Alli probably likes him more than Taylor does.

This was make-your-own-pizza night at our place.

Girl's night.

At the park.  That kid.

 Celebrating a lost tooth.

 And their latest adventure, a return from Weston's dirt bike weekend competitions.  They're so tired in this photo, they're giggle-silly.

Then there's Ben.  His best friend is Christian.  He's in his class at school.  The first time asking a new friend over is always a little nerve-wracking for me.  Meeting the parents.  Wondering if they're psycho.  Do they watch horror movies? Have a moonshine distillery in the basement?  Freak if I bring their kid home dirty or feed him frozen egg rolls?

Well, it turns out they're pretty much like us.  Weird.

This is science party day.
Christian has invited Ben over just as much, and they've been working on laying down some dubstep tracks.  (i.e. writing songs together)  Christian's dad is a musician so I guess he's got some cool stuff. And Christian has two younger brothers.  That's it.  Just boys.  As in "ain't no drama queen there".

Besides Christian, Ben also likes (and I mean LIKES) to be with the young lady standing beside him.  Natasha.  The girl from England with the accent.  Apparently they sit really really close together.  And MJ in the blue, she's fun and crazy and a lot like Alli.

Lastly, Nathan, who has really enjoyed the friendships he's made in Classical Conversations.  Sarah Kate, in the blue shorts, is the one HE likes.  I mean, he's made awesome guy friends in school too, but his mom can't get her act together and get a picture of them.

Well....Dylan (far left) and Benny (yellow) are in this one, but it's so blurry.  However, Sarah Kate is front and center and perfectly clear, and that's all that matters anyway. (grin)

So there you have it.  God must like to answer prayers for friends, because we sure got 'em.