Arianna came over on Friday night after ballet rehearsal and did not leave until 7 pm on Monday night. I called it the "marathon sleepover" because she was technically only supposed to stay on Friday night.
Friday night we stayed up until 5:00 am goofing off listening to music in the kitchen, recording ourselves covering a song, and we story-boarded a whole music video.
We woke up at 9 so I could drive her to piano lessons.
It was fun to watch her in piano and to see how her teacher teaches.
Then we got ready for a graduation party I was going to. I stopped by Walgreens for a card and she bought one too. She didn't know my friend at all, who graduated from ACU, but she became quick friends.
Then we went to Redemption Church Arcadia for a Citizens and Saints concert. I was not a fan but decided to go and BOY am I glad I went! I never knew I could enjoy a concert so much. I'm totally a fan now. They were so good live.
Here's some pictures from the foyer of the church--I liked the retro look of it.
We got a pic with the band and talked to each member for a long time! Full of encouraging words--more than just saying "y'all were awesome--and we ended up learning a thing or two from the keyboardist!
Then we took the scenic way home and ended up on top of this mountain. It's my favorite look-out-point.
We went to bed again at 5 am because we were too busy eating, talking, laughing, listening to music, and playing piano.
We went to Redemption Church Arcadia just to mix things up, and heard a great sermon that was full of things we really needed to hear. And the worship leader there used to lead worship at SBC's venue congregation, so we said hi.
On the way back, I stopped at BoSa donuts because Arianna had never been there. She loved them.
Then, since I was in Phoenix, and it was a Sunday, decided to stop by the church that used to be the original location of Living Streams Church. I hadn't been there in almost ten years! It was open and there were still a few people left from the service so we went inside the sanctuary and talked to the pastors. It's an Anglican Church now, and I looked around and realized how much was still original--they didn't do a whole lot of remodeling. The pastor said that Living Streams worked it out so they would only have to pay for the property, but not pay interest because they were grateful of the missions work that Christ's Church Anglican was doing. It was cool to look at the cheery, thankful countenance of the pastor, hear him talk about it, and to see how Living Streams passed the baton to the next generation that will occupy this space.
I'm so glad Arianna was there to listen to my nostalgic moments. I kept telling stories and pointing to the places where they occurred.
More chilling and eating.
We watched tv and a special on TV for Memorial Day. I watched in shock and laugher as Arianna stood up and marched and sang along to the Air Force song. Because of her dad's military background, she heard that song growing up almost as much as I heard the Michigan fight song.
Around 8 pm, Arianna looked at her phone in horror, "I forgot about Christian's going away party tonight! It started 15 minutes ago!" Christian is a friend we've known since homeschooling days. We are also friends with his sister, Bella. So we threw on our church outfits, made dinner really quick, packed a swim bag, put on makeup and left for Walgreens. Which we bought cards for him and wrote them in the car (for the second time that week!)
We showed up and there were a lot of people there. I played billiards for an hour with my friend Rustin (I knew from homeschooling) and bro'd it up with him.
Then I got super tired. Probably from the cumulative 5 hours of sleep I had received in the past two days. We ended up hanging out in Bella's room while Christian and all his friends started jamming in the room next door. Drums and bass literally blaring through the walls as Arianna and Bella watched makeup tutorials on YouTube and I read Bella's copy of "Please Understand Me" by David Keirsey. I'm a sucker for psychology books as much as I hate them--they're so interesting.
We left at 1 and ended up going to bed super late because Arianna was watching the Kardashians and I was finishing that book Bella let me borrow. So I went to bed at 5 am again and woke up at 1 pm. The first time I got to sleep in.
After making food and doing loads of chores, we went to Scottsdale Quarter so I could return some things. Well everything was closed and disappointed, we went to Dutch Bro's. I didn't order anything but Arianna got coffee for free because the baristas are so nice and sometimes they do that.
We got home and I did more chores before my parents came home. I cannot tell you how many times I cleaned that kitchen this weekend. I now have a new respect for mom!
All-in-all, a great weekend.
This is exactly what I needed. I have been in such a rut these past five months. I don't know if you've noticed, but I've not been in a good place, emotionally. Still dealing with anxiety. God brought me through a lot of storms these past five months, and now that those storms are subsiding, I really needed something to lift me up and out from the swirling eddies. That's what this weekend did. I have a new respect for, "as iron sharpens iron" and to "bear each other's burdens." I never knew how alone I've been in this journey and how much it helped to walk alongside someone for three whole days. It was great to be around someone who is happy, cheerful, funny, talkative, and spontaneous. All these things got me out of my house--which is a toxic place without people and where most of my worrying is done--and onto some big adventures. Just two single, young girls, cruising around Phoenix and most of Scottsdale, doing things Eve has always wanted to do, but always figured she'd do them "later."
I have known Arianna for years and as she enters this next phase of going to college, I'm able to see things in her that I once dealt with. It's also great how many spiritual conversations we had over the weekend. It's important to have friendship with lost of laughter and fun, but it's also an extra level of great if you can talk about more than worldly things.
Such an awesome weekend.
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