Moms Night Out

2 moms (sans husbands and kids)

plus

no responsibilities for approximately 22 hours

plus

1 night stay at The Grand Lodge

plus

dry weather (relatively)

plus

afternoon of drinking coffee/tea and catching up

plus

big platter of sushi for dinner

plus

sitting by an open fire on comfy couches, continuing to catch up

plus

lemon drops

plus

still more great conversation

plus

walk into town to try out a quirky cafe for breakfast

plus
a relaxing massage

equals

A GREAT TIME!

Jen, you are one of my extra special favorite people.  Thank you for taking a night out of your CRAZY schedule to spend it with me.  Time with you nourishes my soul.  Cheers to an awesome moms night out!!!

Friday Thanks

Here are some highlights of the recent things I am thankful for:

* Bowling with Ryan.  I totally kicked his butt and beat him (at least in one game...we won't talk about the other game).
* Finding a lender who is willing to refinance my beach house.  I'm cautiously optimistic...the loan isn't closed yet.
* Encountering a responsible teenager, who admitted fault when he rear-ended me.  A shiny new bumper is in my future.
* Coffee date with Ryan.
* Ryan bringing Little Man downtown to have lunch with me.  Plus cookies...yum-O.
* Grandma Sherry and Grandpa Keith watching Henry overnight.
* Shamrock Run.  I made it 8k without stopping. Can I call myself a runner now???
* Grilled salmon.  I love BBQ.
* Coming home to a scene of Henry on his bike with his neighbor friend Wyatt.
* Playing with the Ko kids.  Henry's BFFs.
* Dry walks in the neighborhood.  Sophie greatly appreciates this too.
* Stickers.  Henry is obsessed!
* Building railroads with Henry. 
* Chase, chase, chase.  Henry's giggle while he is being chased is priceless.
* Getting back to the gym after 25 months off. : ) 
* Lunch with Emilie.  She makes me want to farm ever more.
* Wonton soup.  So quick and delicious to make.
* Lunch with the Hubbie at one of our favorite cafes.
* Reading and finishing a novel.
* Flexibility to work remotely.
* Practicing the piano.  So grateful my piano instructor is patient with me.  I am SLOWLY getting better.  I can play a few tunes and know a few chords.  Progress!
* Lunch-time walk with Britney.
* A few nights of 8 hours of sleep.  Can't say it happens on most nights, but when it does, it is blissful.

Smiley Thursday

 So happy to see you Mama!

 Daddy's shoes are awesome.  Henry loves to put Ryan's shoes on but he really struggles to walk in them, which usually results in vocal frustration from Henry.  It's quite entertaining for Mama.

CHASE ME.  This is probably Henry's favorite game right now.  He often still chases after me with his "dee dee" (an old car charger). 

 When Henry gets tired of running around from chase, he ducks under the table for cover.  I usually pretend that I don't know where he went and we play hide and seek under the table, which really amounts to me walking around the table asking "where did Henry go???" only to hear him giggle from under the table.  Then I peer under the table and he busts up laughing.  Then says "MORE."

 This time he armed himself with his shovel.

 Enjoying some fun at the beach on a dry Saturday morning.  Sophie was in dog-heaven that morning, running free and splashing in the waves.  She may be nearing 8, but she still acts like a puppy at the beach.

Ice cream makes everyone happy.  This day Henry decided mint chocolate chip ice cream was the only acceptable flavor that would do (I really wanted chocolate...guess who won the debate).  Just so happens that it was Ryan's favorite flavor as a little guy too. 

 This is what you get when you show Henry that he can take his picture with your new iPhone. 

This too...silly goose!