The Childhood BFF visits!

My good friend Nicole, her husband Chad and daughter Karaline all came out to visit last weekend and we had such an amazing time! It was great to have our first official house guests (plus let's be honest, it was great motivation to kick us into high gear to get our spare bedroom all done in time), and it's ALWAYS fun to hang with those guys. Nicole and I have been friends since we were 10 years old and it's always so comfy to be together. We honestly pick up right where we left off, and when I'm not with her, it's like a piece of me is missing. So, needless to say, it was incredible to be together again!

Her sweet daughter Karaline is now 14 months old and has grown so much since we last saw her! She is such a little sweetie, it was a blast to see her little personality growing. She kept us cracking up the whole weekend. She was super into some Broncos beads and an Hawaiian nut lei that she found in our closet, she wore them all weekend and looked like Mr. T.

Poor G tapped into his own inner "T" as well:

Without having dining room chairs yet, we hung out in the courtyard a bunch. Here's Rob and Chad doing some "work". Nerd alert!

We made our first fire in the fireplace! So nice and cozy...

Karaline really dug the playground near our house, she was so cute trying to climb everything like a big girl!

Meanwhile, the guys observed.

On Sunday, we had brunch for our friends to meet Nicole and Karaline (Chad had already gone up to LA for a conference), and Karaline and Bennett played together a bit again at the playground.

Saturday we went to Sea World and had such a great time together. I was impressed that Karaline was actually into the animals and able to stay pretty patient during the shows!

Seeing Shamu:
Watching the Shamu show:

Touching the ice wall:
Looking at the penguins: (or actually, looking at Auntie Beth looking at the penguins):

There was a new baby Beluga whale there, only 4 months old! Such an adorable little chubbs...and she is all gray, apparently they turn white later when they're older. It's actually a sweet little story, she was rejected by her Mom but immediately one of the other females took over and started nurturing/raising her. That female has never had babies of her own, and yet she started lactating and is now nursing the little peanut! Boohoooooo!!!! So freakin' cute. I cannot deny that I was reduced to a puddle of mush while watching her swim with her "mama", so precious.

I sat there and took about 10 minutes of video just watching the little one swim around with "Mama"...but here's the edited version. This is my version of heaven, this makes me so happy!

Someone wants a polar bear. I'm just saying.

Sharks! You pick which one scared Chad:

Karaline seemed into the ray encounter exhibit, she kept waving to them:

Flamingos!

We took Karaline into the little kid play area and we noticed shoes weren't allowed, so Auntie Beth to the rescue: I hopped out there and swapped her shoes for socks...and while I was there, starting bouncing and playing with her, until I got in trouble. Oops, apparently you have to be under 37 inches to play in that area! Hey, what if I'm just a super tall toddler with a glandular problem? Don't discriminate.

And just like that, the weekend was over and we were hugging and kissing goodbye! :( Boo! I was so sad to say goodbye, but will always look forward to the next time...