Our friends Sonny, Emily, and Sovahn Crawford visited us from Massachusetts this week. Sonny is an old friend we’ve known for over forty years, whom we met in Brimfield while buying antiques and collectibles for the Chili’s chain. Sonny’s older son, Tinian, and our daughter, Sarah, were four and three at the time, and we struck up an instant friendship. It wasn’t long before Sonny met Emily, and a few years later, they welcomed Sovahn into their family. They have come to see us several times in the past during the coldest part of the winter in Western Massachusetts, and, luckily, we had some beautiful days here that stood in sharp contrast to the minus-two-degree temperatures back home.

As is the case with close friends, we did a lot of talking. We also hiked in the nearby nature conservancy, cooked, soaked in our wood-heated hot tub, and basically just hung out. It was a lot of fun and reminded me how lovely it is to have friends who feel like extended family.

Here are some photos of the Crawfords and our kids from this evening. We gathered at Sarah’s for a meal to celebrate seeing Sonny and Sovahn. Sadly, Emily had to leave earlier today, but she was with us in spirit.

Our daughters, Rachael, Liz, and Sarah with Sovahn and Sonny

Liz and Emily at the local swimming hole at the nature conservancy in Ojai

Sovahn at the swimming hole

Ron, Emily, and Ethan at the swimming hole

Emily enjoying the water

Gregorio and Luna this evening