The Smith Family

As mentioned a couple times in the past few weeks, we recently had an awesome visit with our friends, the Smith family. Meet Kristin and Jason.

We met the Smith's, oh a little more than four years ago when we were just young newlyweds. At the time I was going to law school at UW, Brian was stationed in Sacramento, and the Smith's were living in Portland, Oregon. However, we all met up in D.C. at the wedding of one of Brian's best buddies, Alex and his wife Adrianne, and we hit it off with the Smith's right away. We first met on Christmas Eve 2003/2004, and I swear to this day that was the best New Year's I've ever had (and I'm not even a fan of New Year's). To take you back to that wonderful time, here is a picture of me, Kristin, and her friend Amanda.

So, long story (which involved train rides in a strange city, a lot of bad dance moves, and a few drinks), we had a blast that night, and continued to enjoy the company of Kristin and Jason for the rest of the trip.

We met up again just over a year later,March of 2005 in Portland, Oregon, where me, Brian, and Charley (who was only three months old) were spending spring break. We had a chance to visit their beautiful home when they so graciously had us over for dinner, and we also had the chance to meet their first son, Braden. Things were definitely different that visit than the previous one, nontheless, we still had a great time hanging out with the Smith's.

So here we are three years later, and once again we were fortunate to meet up again when the Smith's decided to come to Oahu for a two week visit, with their two sons and other friends and family in tow. The first week they were here, we hung out at a beautiful home that they rented on the eastern side of the island. Here we all are hanging at the pool.

The next week we were able to meet up again, this time at another home that the Smith's rented on the North Shore.

Here are all the kids hanging out.

Charley and Conner, the Smith's youngest son, quickly hit it off and were soon best buds. They are only about four months apart in age, and they were inseparable every minute that they were together. All you with little boys out there, there is some stiff competition for winning Charley's heart.

On the last day that they were in town, the Smith family, Kristin's parents, and Jason's mom were so kind to take time to come visit our house, hang out for a nice lunch, and even squeezed an airstation tour into their schedule. Here is Brian giving the infamous tour.

Charley and Conner were like two peas in a pod.

So, we had a very nice visit with the lovely Smith family, and look forward to seeing them again in the near future. Word on the street is that Jason isn't going to last long without another Hawaii fix . . . but then again, that's the effect Hawaii can have on you. However, despite Hawaii's beauty, the Smith's have helped convince us to settle in Portland when Brian retires from the Coastguard. Oregon, here we come!