c & h: The Hutchferns

On Sunday night we had to say goodbye to our close friends the Hutchisons. It's always been hard to describe them to other people. "Best friends" and "next door neighbors" never seem to capture the relationship. They truly are a part of our family, hence the nickname: Hutchferns.

Chris and Thomas became best friends eight years ago with a group of guys at BYU after discovering their shared love for video games and basketball.

Chris and Thomas circa 2007

A few of the guys (including Chris and Thomas) got married in the summer of 2011 and we all started hanging out constantly.We called ourselves The Marrieds.

Right before RJ was born we moved in next door to the Hutchisons and we've shared a duplex ever since. Living with them has been a blast and there will be many rituals and traditions we will miss.

It's hard to say goodbye to friends, but the hardest part is trying to explain it all to RJ. Their front door has literally been inches from ours her entire life. She loves them so much. It hurts me to hear her ask for Thomas and Gecko (Kendall) and Wesley. We've gotten used to having them in our daily lives, so when we dropped them off at the airport it really felt like half of our family was moving across the country.

Although we are sad that this fun time has come to an end, we always knew it would. We are excited for the Hutchisons to start their new chapter in Connecticut; we know they will do amazing things!
Dr Seuss said, "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." So that is what I am going to try and do. Not many have the chance to live next door to their best friends and watch their kids become best friends. We feel very blessed to have had this opportunity and will cherish these memories forever.

Love you and miss you already Hutches! Here's to the Hutchfern adventures of the future!