August 12, 2025
Hello friends! I’m having so much fun with new blog posts and, if you can tell, using alliteration for different days of the week. Since it takes a village to raise a child, I thought I’d introduce you to my own group of villagers who play an integral part of what I do. Team Up Tuesday will feature a handful of friends whom I’ve met along the way of my Peek-A-Boo Speech path, starting with a friend of 25+ years, Joni Wilson.
Aloha everyone! When Vanessa came up with Team Up Tuesday, I was honored that she asked me to be her first guest.
We were destined to be friends from the beginning. In 1998 I was the childcare director at a fitness center in Texas, she was a spunky, weight lifting, Kindermusik® educator. We had toddlers around the same age who matched each others’ girth, spent many hours playing Pokemon, emptying out my candy dish, and even attending the same preschool. Four years later, we discovered that we were going to be moms again! I joined in on her classes and, until this day, still have all of the Kindermusik® CDs.
New Jersey 2019, a random meet up!
Taken with our girls who were born 3 weeks apart in 2001.
Even though our military wives’ lives took us to different states and time zones, we chatted weekly with life updates. She would add to her impressive Education Resume; I would add three more kiddos to my ohana. As fate would have it, we ended up being stationed together in Virginia, where I happily stepped in to be her puppy’s favorite dog sitter. (One of my proudest accomplishments!)
I moved out of Virginia in 2013, but we still connect weekly to share heartfelt discussions, silly stories, and creative updates. I’ve seen Vanessa bloom into her fascinating career of music and therapy, and venture into brave “what-if” ideas. As her blog editor and social media manager, I’m proud to be part of Peek-A-Boo Speech, and even prouder to celebrate decades of our friendship.