Bye Bye Buddies

We have been so fortunate in our friendships and our community, but with our lifestyle, it is inevitable that sometimes we must say good bye.

In the past month, we said farewell and see you soon to our two closest friends.

First, we waved goodbye as Bryan got on the road for his new job in Las Vegas.  A mere week later, we watched as Ahgo loaded up his bags for an extended "work trip."

Though we know we will see each of them again, our lives have revolved heavily around time spent with Bryan and Ahgo, and not seeing them on a daily basis has been quite an adjustment.

We filled our last week with our besties with laughter and fun, beginning with trivia, our Tuesday evening tradition.

When we arrived, someone had tried to sit at our usual table.  The hostess politely told her the table was reserved.  We have never formally reserved the table, so it felt truly special that our spot is held sacred.  Props Brewery has taken care of our trivia team on Tuesday nights for years...whether we show up with 26 people (team limit is 6) or just the four of us with our namesakes, Zoey and Potatoes.

As a final hoorah, we drove to Panama City (this was just days before Hurricane Michael changed the face of the area, and thus one reason I waited so long to post).  We spent an evening at Dave & Buster's, racing, shooting hoops, playing multi puck air hockey, and the ultimate reason for our trip- Jurassic World Virtual Reality.

We knew Potatoes would lose his mind over this, and so we took the hour long drive to share this experience with him.  When we got there, the sign informed us that participants need to be 42 inches tall, and a recommended 10 years old...  We asked if our TWO year old might be allowed to ride.  The guy looked at us like we were crazy.

We walked away, played some more games and ate dinner.  After dinner, we saw that the ride was now manned by a much younger person, aka a high schooler.  Daniel asked her the same question.  She politely explained that it is recommended for older, bigger kids, because you have to wear a seat belt.  Daniel asked if he could wear the seat belt, and hold Alexander 'tightly.'  We explained how far we had driven just so he could do this ride.  With her argument answered, she nodded and led us to the seats.

It was very, very cool!  It truly felt like we were in a dinosaur stampede, falling nearly into the mouth of an enormous Mesasaur, and then saved by an Osprey at the last moment.  All the while, I could see Bryan and Ahgo's VR masks looking up, down, and around, taking in all the sights.  Next to me, about a foot and a half lower, Potatoes's mask never moved.  Daniel worried he hadn't put it on right, because Alexander did not move a muscle nor say a word- until the ride was done.  He has talked about it incessantly since.  I think he was truly in awe!

 There was a pirate festival just outside Dave & Buster's.  I was taken captive!
It was a great evening and one we will definitely remember.

With his car loaded, Bryan met us for quesadillas and queso before hitting the road that Sunday.

 We have so many wonderful memories with this crew, and look forward to making many more.

 Exactly a week later, we knew we would be saying goodbye to Ahgo, as he left for a 'work trip' for a couple months.  We filled another week with memories and mayhem!

Part of which included getting to see some of our other favorites who we had to say goodbye to because of this wonderful life we live.

Karlee, Jonathan, and their girls Brighton & Aila came into town for Aila's dedication at their church.

Seeing Karlee and her family really brightened up our weekend.  Her girls have grown so much.  Watching Brighton and Potatoes play as children was monumental for me, marking just how quickly our little ones grow.

We look forward to many more visits with the Goeres family now that they live only one state away!

Another great distraction during the week was my mom coming into town.  Potatoes was not very warm at first, focusing all of his attention on daddy, until Gammie came to school and told stories.  Once all of his school friends wanted her attention, then Gammie became a hot commodity and Potatoes couldn't get enough!

Doing dinosaur puzzles

To make this time even more memorable, just days before Ahgo was set to leave, we were informed of Hurricane Michael's presence in the gulf.

This storm was big, and going to get bigger as it moved slowly over the warm Gulf of Mexico.

We took frequent walks down to the yacht club to watch as the water began to rise.

Jan and I made plans to evacuate with the littles, just to be on the safe side.  Unfortunately, right as we were getting ready to head out of town, Potatoes began to spike a fever; one that went up, up, up.  Urgent care informed us that my poor kiddo had an ear infection in the ear where his tube had just fallen out, and tonsillitis.  I opted to stay home that night, as he does not sleep well when away from home.

I packed an unpacked to evacuate twice for this storm.  Daniel was completely confident that the front to the west was going to push the storm out of our way.  I was a nervous wreck, but have come to know that Daniel does not speak when uncertain, so I chose to follow his lead.

Our neighborhood was under ordered evacuation and my phone was exploding with messages urging us to get out, but we hung tight.

We got high water and some wind, but were unscathed.

We played a lot of indoor games throughout the day

And splashed through puddles that evening.

Our neighbors in Panama City were devastated in this storm.  It has been so heartwarming to see the loads of supplies and helping hands going from our community to theirs.  When Jan and I went to buy supplies, the shelves of Sam's were nearly empty of essentials from others buying for our neighbors.

The following Saturday night, with a send off meal and lots of hugs, we said goodbye and safe travels to Ahgo.  Potatoes asks about Bryan and Ahgo daily.  Just yesterday on the way to school, he asked Daniel, "Daddy, can we go pick Ahgo up and bring him home?  Don't you think that's a good idea?"

We are so blessed with our friendships.

These two are truly connected.  

In between these two goodbyes, we were also receiving updates on my dad and Grandma Jay's cross country move to Oregon.  Though we don't see them daily, my dad's monthly visits have been a staple in our world.  Having them on the opposite corner of our country is one more big adjustment we are coping with.  While all of these changes are good for those directly involved, us Martins are definitely trying to figure out our new normal!

We deeply miss our additional crew members, though we are holding strong and making mayhem.  It helps that Aunt Jan has been staying with us for a while, Gammie came to visit, and we made a trip to Atlanta in the weeks since Bryan and Ahgo left.