Good Times with Angeluis

Angel and Luis have lived in So Cal for a few years and we have never been up to visit them. They always come down for the beach or Disneyland and it was high time we made the trek up north. They live in a little farming community about 3 hours away, just outside of Bakersfield. They rent a cool mid century modern home with a pool, hammock garden, and tons of toys. 
We drove up on Saturday morning and Luis smoked some “out of this work” ribs for us! We are all trying to eat low carb so we snacked on ribs and fruit for dinner. Angel made cauliflower Mac n cheese and a yummy cheesecake dessert. She is amazing! The kids ran around and played the entire time: swimming, jumping on the trampoline, riding bikes, dressing up like super heros, and playing videos games. 
Us adults spent most of the time sitting around and talking and it was so nice and relaxing. 
We slept well and had a yummy breakfast the next morning. Having Luis cook all the food is a joy I don’t take for granted! We attempted a sacrament meeting and for the most part, the kids did great. Angel’s kids have way more reverence than mine do! But the spirit was so strong and I was so grateful to Luis who administered and passed the sacrament with such love. He asked me to give a little talk on the history of “Chang”. We first became friends in the back of Sister Goodfellow’s van on the way to St. George for Youth Conference. And have been best friends ever since. The glue that sticks our relationship together is our testimony of the gospel and our commitment to follow the Lord’s teachings. We have prioritized service in our lives and are both very goal oriented. We keep each other on track and lift the other when needed. 24 years have passed since that first summer and we have both been sealed in the temple and are the mothers of 8 children, collectively. We’ve graduated from college, moved from town to town, served in various callings, and had our fair share of disappointments and set backs. But our commitment to serving the Lord has never wearied. And our friendship means just as much today as it did when we were 17. 
It’s amazing how well our kids play together and how easy it is to be together. We are truly blessed with friendship and I don’t take our unique relationship for granted!