Family dinners are growing on me ... finally!

Tim and I have some really great neighbors. We've actually always been blessed with great neighbors, but we have finally found another family with young parents and 2 kids. The dad is a lot like Tim -- he enjoys working in the yard, getting dirty on his 4-wheeler, and hanging out. The mom is a lot like me -- she was a cheerleader in high school, was a stay-at-home mom until her youngest started Kindergarten, and likes her girly time, too. Their two sons are absolutely precious. The oldest is a really great kid. As a former 6th grade teacher, I've been exposed to hundreds of pre-teens. This young man is one of the sweetest, most polite, and most considerate of any I've ever met. While most kids his age would run from the idea of "playing" with the neighbors' younger kids, this one doesn't balk at the idea at all. Every time we are outside, he says hello. When we hang out at their house, he's open to checking on the younger kids whenever asked. When we eat dinner with them, he lets Kendall pick at him and slap on him, even if it's getting on his nerves. And he even plays with Tanner, which is a big deal because there is a 9 year age difference. He never complains about "babysitting" at all -- well, at least not to me. The younger son is a real boy's boy. He's always going 90 miles a minute, but still never forgets to say hello when passing by. Kendall has always had a little crush on him. When she first met him, she was smitten. For months, she would only whisper, "Hi," as he passed by, never loud enough for him to hear her. It was so cute. Now that they are older and have gotten to know each other, she talks and plays with him. Though he is older than Kendall by two years, he includes her when she wants to be included, and that means a lot to Kendall and to me.
So now we have this new family to hang out with. It may sound silly, but Tim and I are very excited about it. We've always wanted another family to pal around with. And now that we've started spending time with them, it seems like we've seen them every weekend! I think it's great, even though I feel like they will probably get tired of spending time with us. Unfortunately, Tim and I don't have that many couples to hang out with ... our friends from college all live too far away or don't share our interests ... our other "couple" friends either don't have kids, have kids who aren't the same age as ours, or are always busy with other things. I think what makes me happiest about this new friendship is that the mom will say things that I'm afraid to say. For example, last time we had dinner, she mentioned to the men that we needed to start alternating weekends. One weekend they could go ride 4-wheelers and the next we could do something while they watched the kids. I would never dream of suggesting that to Tim. I don't know why, I just don't ever say things like that even though I think it all the time.
So hopefully this is the beginning of a really good friendship ... one that will last even after we move ... because I actually like their entire family. Our family dinners with them are relaxing and calm, even when the kids are nuts! I only hope that they know how much I enjoy spending time with them.