Back in 2021, our friend from college, Lacey (who married one of Brian's roommates), came to visit, and I said, "Hey, in two years, it will be the 20th anniversary of when all those boys and I met. We should go on a couples' cruise to celebrate." She thought that was a great idea. She got the ball rolling, trying to get all the roommates and their wives to agree. Ruth kind of shut the whole conversation down when she said, "I get sick on a cruise. Can we do an all inclusive resort instead?" So, we figured that that was that. We made other plans. Our 15th anniversary was coming up, and we got my mom to agree to watch our kids so we could go on a cruise over Christmas break later this year.
Well, after making our plans, when we thought it wouldn't be happening, the reunion idea got resurrected! Long story short, October was the month that got picked, and we insisted that the only weekend we could make work in October was during Fall Break. We begged Brian's parents to take our kids so we could go (assuring them that they wouldn't have to take kids to any activities and that they'd be totally fine on their own on Thursday night when they had to be in Salt Lake for the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square rehearsal.) I think Lea may have even taken them to Cornbelly's on Thursday to help out. We were so grateful to all of them for helping make this happen.
We met up at Michael and Kristina's house in Sandy, and then Michael's parents drove us to the airport. Kristina was really excited for this trip because I don't think she and Michael have been able to get away in YEARS due to medical school, residency, and fellowship. We were so excited to be able to hang out with them for the whole long weekend!
Lacey had caught some kind of stomach bug, so she was kind of miserable the first day we were together.
It was fun catching up with TJ and Lacey.
We headed to Wal Mart for supplies, and I made Michael take a picture in this giant Adirondack chair.
After getting back from WalMart, we headed to The Wright Brothers Memorial Park in Kitty Hawk. If you're wondering why TJ is in the front seat by my Brian instead of me, so was I. That's okay, I see him all the time.
We started our visit in the Visitor's Center. I loved that the display's narrative of the Wright Brothers said, "The Story Starts at Home" and talked about how Wilbur and Orvill's parents encouraged them to tinker with things and to explore. It was a very beautiful tribute to their mother.
After reading through the exhibits, we joined a tour where we got to walk around the park and hear the story.
I had no idea how cool this park would be.
While we were there, several helicopters and planes flew low over this field. For most aviators, this is sacred ground--where it all started! I sent a photo to my brother, Cal, and he was so jealous!
Behind us is the hill where they first tried out their gliders while they were experimenting. The sands shift all the time, so someone along the lines made it so the hill was more permanent and structurally sound enough to erect a monument on it.
And what a monument! It is shaped like the tail fin on an airplane.
This is from the top of the hill looking out over where the first flight happened.
Now a view from the bottom of the hill.
Here's the four markers showing how far each flight went. You can barely see the final fourth marker that is clear at the end of the field.
Here we all are in front of the model of the first successful machine powered plane. The original got picked up by the wind and wrecked after the fourth successful flight.
After the museum, we headed back to the house.
And then we went to the beach. This time, Lacey joined us.
Here, Lacey is christening my new Outer Banks sweatshirt.
It was so beautiful! Outer Banks, not my sweatshirt christening.
Jeff and Ruth arrived Friday night, and we all headed out to dinner.
The next morning, we were able to do video calls with Scott and Kim and Peter. We also gave updates of what's been going on with each other using a power point.
We grabbed lunch on a restaurant right on the water. I didn't love the food, but everyone else did.
Here we all are! (It was pretty windy, if you can't tell).
We can't even believe we've been friends for 20 years!!! Thank goodness for our freshman year FHE Group assignment!
Now for the ladies: Kristina, Me, Ruth, Lacey.
After lunch, we played pickleball. I'm terrible at Pickleball, but I enjoyed sideline chats.
We went to the beach again, this time donning our swimming suits. It was a little cooler than would be ideal, but it was October afterall. Once the water got all the clothing wet, it wasn't bad, and we had a ton of fun playing in the waves.
TJ & Lacey, Me & Brian, Jeff & Ruth, Kristina's shadow & Michael.
After the beach, we had to go thaw out in the hot tub. We all squeezed in here.
We had dinner, played games, and ended the night singing a few hymns together, which was one of my favorite parts of the trip.
The next morning, we had breakfast, and then went our separate ways, but not before taking a picture.
Apartment Gates 2013: Brian, Michael, T.J. and Jeff. Missed you Scott and Adam!
(Brian here) These guys weren't just my freshman roommates, they changed the course of my entire life. Before I met them, I was not into church very much (I went, but didn't care about it), but these guys were such a huge example to me and were there for me so much that first year that by the end, I decided to get my life in order and serve a mission for the Lord. They are brothers to me in every sense of the word (except blood), and I think about them often.
After our missions, I was with (most all of them) again and they continued to shape my life. I met their future wives and got to see them date and finally decide to get married around the same time Devri and I started dating and decided to get married. It's been too long since I've seen most of them (especially TJ/Lacey and Jeff/Ruth) and it was fantastic to have so many together. Here's hoping that in another few years we can get EVERYONE together.