Who are the people in your neighborhood?

I truly do live in the best neighborhood! There is a reason we chose to buy our first house here, and a reason why we wanted to stay when it came time to buy our second home. (This is in fact our third house in the same ward.) It seems that no matter where we look we are surrounded by friends. Now I am not saying it is perfect, I am not saying we all get along but, I am saying that we seem to have found our niche in this small city that I never thought I would like living in. When we wanted to look for houses about 9 years ago we had good friends that were building in a neighborhood that was just being started within our ward boundaries. We walked through their house a lot at first, it was fun to see the progress they were making. What started out as us taking tours through theirs ended up as us taking tours through the house next door. It was a "spec home" that was being built by the same builder and we fell in love with it. We moved in in 2000 and soon after met the new neighbors.

(Lora, The Bug, Leah, Gena, Emily, and Cassie,two of the women in this picture I have already mentioned in a previous post.)

The Neighborhood quickly filled in and we came to know these people not only as neighbors but as friends too. There are some of the most amazing people I have ever met in this little patch of ground in Layton Utah.

(Tiff, Luetta, Lou Lou, S, Doug)

We soon got to know more and more of them and began to know their kids as well. They learned about mine and have always accepted mine as their own. We have all had opportunity to discipline each others kids and I am sure they have all been yelled at by someone other than the woman they call Mommy.

(Zach, Tai, & Sarah)

We have had opportunities for service, and will continue to take care of each other, because that is what friends do. We accept each other and accept new friends into our circle on an almost daily basis.

(Tiff)

We laugh with each other, we cry with each other. We get together often and every time we do we are reminded why we like our own lives, and our own struggles more than some one else's. We are reminded why we are friends, and have started to regard each other as an extended family of sorts.

(Daren, Christoper, and Ron)

We have gotten fat together, skinny together, we have had our feelings hurt, and seen them repaired. We share laughter, tears, recipes, gossip, time, and Love.

Here is to the best neighbors ever!