Scout

I just tucked the sweetest little girl into bed.  I should be grading right now in the first quiet, not kid-filled moments of my day, but I just can't help but think about the precious moments she and I have shared together over the past two days.  

My wonderful friends Brendan and Hannah let me steal their daughter for a couple days.  She and I have been friends since the very beginning.  Quite literally.  As in, I was in the room when she was born, and mine were one of the first pairs of arms to cradle this sweet child.  We have been tight ever since, and I'm fairly sure her favorite color is purple because mine is.  

We lived in the same town until she was one and a half or so.  Four hundred miles have separated us ever since.  Though it might mean fewer in-person interactions, the miles haven't put a dent in our relationship.  There are plenty of weekend visits, Skype chats, and, now that both her mom and I have iPhones, Facetime!

Now that she's about a month shy of her fifth birthday, we (her mom and I) decided we would try a few days at Kristi's!  She loved the idea and apparently spilled over with excitement when she was told the visit had been scheduled.  I was in town for her little brother's birthday, and she came back to my place with me. After a longer-than-she-expected seven hour drive with a little bit of a carsickness incident, we arrived at Chez MK for a lovely time together.

The last 48 hours have held some of my most precious memories with this sweet child.  We have read books, laid on a blanket in the sunshine, hung out with a bunch of friends, ate burritos for Moe Monday, gone for a walk, splashed in water fountains, colored, snuggled through movies, sipped hot chocolate on the front porch in our morning robes, played in a bubble bath, took pictures, gathered leaves and acorns, named a pumpkin, worked on Kindergarten, gone grocery shopping, quoted movies, sung along with the Tangled soundtrack, and giggled a lot.  

Tomorrow we will meet her mom halfway between her house and mine for her to go home.  The days have gone by far too quickly and with not nearly enough napping (She has informed me on multiple occasions that she doesn't take naps anymore and that she can't have red dye.), but I wouldn't trade them for the world.  This little girl holds a very special place in my heart, and there just aren't enough minutes in the day to spend together.  She's been my pretty ever since I first held her in my arms, and I savor each precious moment we spend together.  

Meet Scout.

Ready for the oh-so-long drive from her house to mine.

Rockin' the shades cause the sun was just so bright.

How does this tiny little girl take up a whole queen size bed??

Crossing the Wards Road bridge together.

Starting the day off right with a cozy robe and some hot chocolate.

After finding my wide-brimmed hat.

Splash park fun!

Our pile of leaves and acorns.

My goofy girl!