January 14 | Friendships (Journaling Challenge)

All About Us by the Lilypad Designers

This was perfect timing! We just got off a cruise this week 403 words.

We are the Schmilkinson Family. It's a smash up of our two families’ last names. From our first selfie in 2017 to our most recent selfie in 2024. We met at church probably around 2007 or 2008; I honestly can’t remember when it would have been exactly. In a typical busy young family style, we knew of each other for years, but it wasn't until the kids were in Sunday School, we started talking more. Our first "outing" was a zoo day with the moms and the kids one Monday when both schools were out. But on trudges life and we see each other only at Church functions for a while more. Sometime around 2014 or 2015 Selena and I both realize we love Disney. We had both gone to Disneyland around the same time in 2013. We started talking about Disney and vacations. At some point, it must have been 2016 we start thinking it would be fun to take both families to Disney together. The kids got along great (Raina is a school year ahead of Asher but only about 4 months older; Amelia is a year ahead of Ada but only about 5 months older; Natalie is their third daughter, but everyone adores and hangs out with her). We started putting things in motion. The first photo is from the day we surprised the kids by saying that we were going to take an epic driving trip to stay 9 days in Orlando the following November. We've done lots of stuff in between - from our week stay in New Mexico in the summer of Covid to relax, weekend trips to Universal, movie days, pool parties, Disney World, and so much more! The second picture if from our recent adult only cruise. Now that two of the 5 kids are in college, and 2 more heading there in the next year and a half, we have started to think ahead to trips with just the four of us. This first cruise was a steppingstone to that kind of travel together and it was so much fun! God has blessed us with this family to do life with. I'm so glad that the kids all have such a solid history with other kids. Without cousins, we've had to make our own type of cousin relationship. This is just one of the two family friendships we have that do that for us!