Catching Up with Old Friends

Cisco was excited for this conference to be in Seattle for many reasons. Another reason was the chance to visit some old college friends. Cisco's old roommate, Lynn (Kajihara) Yamada, and flag-football buddy, Garrett Yamada, live in Fife, WA, about 30-40 minutes from Seattle. So we rented a car and drove down to spend the afternoon with them. We hadn't seen them in a few years, so we haven't had a chance to meet their son Cade, and for them to meet Kaila.

Kaila and Cade team-up to try and figure out the toy.

Kaila trying to convince Cade that they should just beat the toy with the red bat.

Cade pushing Kaila around on the scooter. "Oh yeah!!"Watching Cade drinkGetting a free ride from Uncle KyleWatching the balls roll and rollSpending some time in the play pen. Cade loved it!!The moms and kidsKaila sitting in the grass with SportBBQing it up!Taking a big bite into the "Juicy-Lucy:" a slice of cheese sandwiched between two patties. Yummy!The Yamadas and ReyesGarrett, Cisco, and KyleKaui, Kaila, Lynn, and CadeThe old roomies. One-half of Vandervelden 242, missing Lori and Brian.

We had an awesome time spending the afternoon with them. During the visit, we caught up on what we're doing now and reminisced about old times at Pacific. It didn't feel as if we hadn't seen each other in years; it felt like we just saw them last week. It felt good being able to relax and talk story with some close friends.

We are so happy to see them successful and happy, with a such beautiful family. They'll be moving back to Maui in about a month, so who knows when we'll see them again. But we are thankful we had the opportunity to see them again, even if it was a short time. We will miss them.