Over a month ago, I celebrated my
25th birthday!
It was a big long weekend of fun memories....
Friday--Sadly, no pictures, but I got all dolled up & went out to dinner with some girlfriends! We laughed & chatted about life, kids, God, future, church, food, fears & how much we should do that more often. After living here for almost 3 years I finally feel like I am building some strong lady friendships, and I love it. Ever since being married I've gotten used to couple get-togethers. I took a girlfriend-hiatus for awhile, trying to get settled into married life, moving here, church hunting & of course being home raising the babies...but I am finding that taking the time to get to know other girls in my stage of life really is so worth it!
Saturday--I used spafinder gift certificates I had saved up for a fabulous massage at The Allison Inn & Spa. Hands down nicest place I have ever been to, let alone been to, to be pampered on. Everything about the experience was breathtaking. The entrance, the view, my fitted robe & slippers, cucumber mint chilled water, my very own "attendant" making sure I was taken care of, my 60min massage & how I got to hang my robe up on a heated rack, all the free amenities, the steam room I took full advantage of... Ah, bliss. I am not kidding, everything was so surreal & fancy it was so fun!! I figured going into it that I'll never be able to afford to go back, so I was happy to take my time & enjoy every second, but I only wished I could have shared that experience with someone else!
(Even the walk to get to the spa was calming & delightful! I felt a little too touristy taking pictures of everything and I really wanted to enjoy it, but took this quick snapshot as I entered & found my way to the spa desk...there were also waterfalls to the right)
(This was the woman's lounge area, closed off to the other areas of the spa. This is where I waited with my small plate of fancy nuts, dried fruit & cucumber water before my masseuse came to personally walk me back to the room...)
As if that wasn't enough for the day...then I got to come home to a clean house, courtesy of handsome hubby!!! Then that evening our bestest friends the Lampa's came over. While cooking & chasing kids I got to try my namesake, my first Gin & Tonic. They are pretty good! And not to be outdone by all her previous delicious handmade creations made in my home by her, Terese took it upon herself to bring all the fresh ingredients to make a delicious dinner to accompany Traeger steaks. YUM.
We also did some wine tasting, as usual. We began with my birth year bottle, a 1985 bottle of Cabernet, I had been given from my brother Tom for my 21st birthday that I had saved up. We were all skeptical not knowing if 25yrs of sitting would make it terrible or terribly good...but we were all very pleased with it!! It was also the oldest bottle any one of us had ever tried, so it was a really cool experience! Thanks again Tom!!!! :)
We ate, we drank, the kids played, we chased them, conversation was rolling & constantly being interrupted, we bathed the funny giggly kids...
We've grown to find out that we value our time with the Lampas so much that is is always worth it to stay overnight in order to get good conversation rolling once kids are in bed. We think it's so worth it to have such good friends like these that we vow to make it happen no matter what, as busy as our lives keep getting. Throwing the Aero Bed out on the living room floor is the usual, and we'll continue to just roll with it and adjust to each other's homes & kids, like how Noah slept in a playpen in our laundry room this time, by his Mommas suggestion... :)
We took plenty of pictures, none of which the kids were smiling all together (so here is the best one of precious Audrey). We put the kids to bed, we Mommy's put on our comfy PJs, put our feet up and sighed a relief of the days end... Conversations continued late into the night, uninterrupted this time but, like usual, the boys outlast us girls and we eventually ventured into our sleeping quarters knowing the morning was coming quickly...
Sunday--My actual birthday. We had a yummy full breakfast the next morning & then they left about nap time. We also left about nap time & headed over to Aaron's parents for another delicious dinner!! More marinated traeger juicy steaks YUM! Skillet potatoes&onions.. fruit.. bread..etc I can't remember it all but just know that my taste buds are watering of tasteful memories. Oh & cinnamon rolls for dessert!!! It was all so good & Tom & Julie always treat me so well & make me feel loved. (My Mom was in Egypt! So we got together with my family once she got back) Then I got to open some birthday gifts among them a gorgeous right hand ring from Julie!! I love it. She always picks out such nice thoughtful gifts.
What a fun way to turn 25! It really was a great weekend. :)
Cheers to 25!!
