Since the Bennett's moved last August, things have not been the same for our sweet girls. Audriana and Maria's friendship has spanned most of their lives. With her 9th birthday approaching, Joye and I hatched a little plan for all of us to meet up in Missoula for a little weekend getaway. We were really looking forward to the trip. So, with our bags packed, birthday gifts wrapped, and 2 very excited little girls, we drove the 3 hours to Missoula this past Sunday morning June 12th. We arrived around noon and the Bennett's arrived shortly after. Their trip from Emigrant is about 4.5 hours. Our rooms were not yet ready at the Missoula Courtyard, so we met the Bennett's at Subway for lunch. The girls were so excited to see each other!
After lunch, we checked into the hotel and then got directions to a nice park in downtown Missoula. The girls rode the carousel a couple of times, played on the giant play structure, and basically just ran around and laughed a lot. The weather cooperated and was quite nice the entire afternoon! 
The park was located on the Clark Fork river, which was running so fast and was so full -- Missoula has been on the news lately because this river is flooding many homes near Missoula! 
After playing, we treated the girls to a little ice cream from the Cold Stone ice cream truck. yummy!
After playing at the park and having ice cream, the girls were ready to head back to the hotel for some swimming. They had a great time.....
...but the most exciting news about all the swimming that they did was that Sofia learned how to swim all by herself! No floaties! She really took off and within 30 minutes, she was literally swimming around the entire pool -- from the shallow end, to the deep end, and back! We couldn't believe it! She is a strong swimmer -- kicking very well, and naturally moving her arms in the breast stroke and the crawl! There are so many new things that Sofia is mastering right now -- we are so proud of her!
Here is our little 5 year old Sofia swimming!
These girls have been swimming together since they were 3! This time they both learned how to do backwards somersaults in the water and they both worked on their diving. Nice job girls!Here is a great shot of our dear friends, the Bennett's. Sid, Maria and Joye. We love you guys! Maria turns 9 in a few days and even though they have moved 8 hours away, we felt so lucky to still be able to meet up with her to celebrate her special day! Happy Birthday Maria!
Maria brought such a special gift for Audriana to open. It was a gift to celebrate her First Holy Communion.....she opened it and put it on immediately. Look how proud she looks with her beautiful new Sacred Heart necklace! 
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