Day 348: Oldest friends

I suppose when it comes to friends of the family, C & B are vying for position as our oldest. I first met C aged 11 when on my the first day of secondary school, weird northerner (me) met weird southerner (him) in the middle of the country. I first met B on the first day of college in similar circumstances. C was my Best Man and they are Exile #3's Godparents. So it was great to catch up with them properly today and to let them make E5N1's acquaintance.

We met some other old friends there briefly this morning and were introduced to their son. Number two is already a few days overdue, so we wish them a happy and peaceful Christmas. We also had a really nice walk in the park, where the girls loved helping to find pine cones. At the end of our visit, we took this picture which was a near-repeat of one we took 363 days ago when we stopped in to see them and say our last pre-Exile goodbye on Boxing Day last year.

When we got home, our Christmas gathering was complete with the arrival earlier in the day of Exile #2's brother. We have just put the girls to bed with all the normal (but quiet) excitement of Christmas night. They both enjoyed their new stories (Christmas presents from C & B opened just before this picture was taken) - Exile #4's is a retelling of A Christmas Carol featuring the Mr Men, Exile #3's is a really lovely take on the Nativity story - she loved it, but Exile #4 fell asleep part way through - fortunately in her own bed, so there was no need to disturb her.