Mindy + Matt= la la love and ultimate reunion in the Fort!!!

"It takes a long time to grow an old friend..." ~John Leonard

That is what the first page of the photo album Miss Mindy Malmberg gave the 5 of us bridesmaids this past weekend. Mindy married her true love, Matthew Malmberg this past weekend and all of us girls were privileged enough to be a part of the special day. The 6 of us girls, together. Again. In Fort Collins. The city where our story began. 13 years ago we all met as freshman girls in college. We were literally from all over the country (Hawaii, Rhode Island, New York, Wyoming, Vegas, and Colorado (Min the only native). An unspoken bond was formed. We made it through college together making memories (some that we share with others and some that we sit and giggle about when it is just us...) that are forever embedded in all of our hearts.

To see my girls with my girls was a sight within itself. Every night when Kenzie left her Aunties, she would say "Mommy, want to see Aunties again!!!" Everyone took turns holding and loving on both girls, giving good ol' mom here a break...the true meaning of a vacation!!


Jason was the rockstar dad of the year! With our home base being a 12 x 12 hotel room he ventured out to explore the Fort with the girls! His partner in crime was Molly's husband Chris who proved to be brave enough to join in the fun! Jason was on duty 24/7. Stayed in the room with the girls when it was bed time so I could continue fun throughout the night. He found a petting zoo in town to occupy Kenzie and Kadence while I got my nails done with the girls, and he even got up with Kadence in the middle of the night so I could get some sleep (with the 4 of us in a queen size bed who are we kidding, no one was really sleeping), however he did all he could to make sure I enjoyed every minute with my friends! His break came though the night of the reception. Mindy arranged to have a babysitter watch the girls in our hotel room, so Jason was able to dance the night away with me! So much fun!!!

And finally, there was the bride. Miss Mindy. Or should I say Mrs. now?! She was absolutely stunning! One of my favorite moments was when we finally made it to the church, we were all back in our waiting room and Mindy finally got a full body glimpse of what a beautiful bride she was. She saw what we had seen all day. A perfectly gorgeous bride! Then the tears started to flow!!! She had made it to her day. Her moment. Her fairytale. And she had her 5 best friends standing there with her through it all.

Our little 4 day trip was perfect down to every last minute. What an excuse for a reunion! It is always so hard to leave my girls when we "have nothing on the books" so to speak. One thing always remains the same though. Whether it is a month that goes by, a year that goes by or 3 years in this case, the 6 of us girls pick up right where we left off. We are 30+ year old's who look at each other and see the women we've become but never forget the 18 year old girls we were, and we appreciate and remember the path we took together to get here.

1999 & 2009