We're Baaaaaack!!!!

Welcome to Charlotte!

The picture of the city was taken from the Mall's parking deck.

Darren and I are back from our over night trip to Charlotte, NC. We had a very nice time together. We spent our entire time shopping and eating!

Friday, we arrived in Charlotte around 1:30 pm. We headed directly to the Cheesecake Factory! YUMMMM!!! Afterwards, we shopped the Southpark Mall until 7 pm. We headed to our hotel to check in and then we went back out to eat dinner at the well-known Maggiano's Italian Restaurant.

On Saturday, we "slept in" (7 am) and ordered our free breakfast via room service. We were supposed to receive a free buffet, but on Friday night, after returning from dinner, Darren and I both stepped off the elevator and directly into a drunk person's vomit. So the hotel manager rewarded us with free room service ($50 value) and $20.00 off of our total bill. After we ate breakfast and loaded up the car, we headed to the Concord Mills Mall. We shopped from 10:30 am - 4:00 pm.

When we arrived home the kids squealed like crazy with excitement. Lilah even cried because she couldn't contain her enthusiasm. It was so sweet.

I figured you wouldn't want to see pictures of the malls we shopped at, the food we ate, and the hotel room, so we decided to capture a few hysterical or interesting photos of things we witnessed during our shopping experience.

Aside from the vomit, the worst part about our trip was we left our pillows at the hotel. Neither one of us got any sleep last night.

One thing I want to add, is a special thank you to those who genuinely texted, called, or wished Darren and I a safe and relaxing time together. It's amazing how my Christian friends truly rejoice with me during happy times. It still is hard to get used to. In the past, I have hid special times, out of fear, that envy would strike.

The first mall we shopped at was SOOOOO high end. Just to give you an idea, Tiffany jewelry and Louis Vuitton shops excited. I spotted a ferrari in valet parking, outside of the cheesecake factory. His license plate read, "any?now"

This man was not hired help! He walked into Brookstone, took off his jacket, laid on the tempurpedic bed, and fell asleep. He was even SNORING!!!!! The store manager had to kick him out after 1 hour. When they first woke him, he said, "Just 5 more minutes." People are so strange! Who can sleep peacefully on a mall mattress? GROSS!

While checking into our hotel, look who was standing next us.... Rick Flair. He was wasted and throwing his money all over the place. I had no clue who he was, but Darren knew exactly who he was. He is known as one of the best professional wrestlers in the world.

A riot broke out at the local Nike store over the latest and limited addition Nike Space sneakers. The nike store was closed on Friday, but on Saturday, when we went back to the mall for our tempurpedic pillows, there were three police officers allowing 2 people in at a time. Apparently, these shoes are going for $1,900.00 on ebay. Darren and I were tempted to buy a pair for $280 in hopes we could sell them on ebay for that amount, but we were afraid we be stuck with those ugly things.

If I had my cell phone out, I could have captured so much more. That mall definitely provided MANY comical moments to say the least.

Heading to Charlotte...

....ALONE, with the HUBBS! Darren and I are really BIG on Valentine's Day and birthdays! We decided this year, rather than dealing with the struggle of finding 3 sitters, for 3 different occasions, and paying out 3 separate installments/payments, just to eat at Carrabass 3 times, we would just hire ONE sitter, do 1 over night, and pay ONE FEE! We are getting wiser now that we are in our mid-30's.

So off we go, on Friday, to celebrate our February birthdays and Valentine's day (a little on the late side, but it's never too late to express love in an extraordinary way). We chose the venue Charlotte, NC. It was really my choice. Close enough to home, but FUN and FAST PACED! I don't want to waste all of my alone time with Darren in a car.

We are staying at the SouthPark Renaissance Marriott Hotel. It looks incredible from the website. I found an amazing deal that is allowing us to stay here for $149.00, TWO FREE FULLY COOKED breakfasts, and drum roll..... a $50 gift card to ANY store in the mall. So basically, we are staying at this hotel for $100. 00 or less if you count the cost of breakfast.

I am so psyched and FORVER grateful to Kaitlyn and Shawn Belcher WHO ALWAYS come to our rescue. Without them, we'd NEVER be able to leave town childless. LOVE YOU BOTH!!!!! MUAH!

I am NOT sure what our plans are other than dinner, shopping, and snuggle time. I even hope to get to sleep in a little. I value my quality time with Darren immensely. I love those times when I don't have to fight with the kids for conversation time.

Be on the look out for later posts when we return. A little birdie tells me there is an IKEA there. Better get my birthday cash ready to BURN!!!!

A Trip To Short Pump With My "Sensational 6"

I LOVE THIS SHOT.... I just wish I was in it too!

On Friday, May 6th, my "Sensational 6" and I traveled to Richmond, VA to stay at the Sierra Hotel, on the grounds of the Short Pump Shopping Center. The night we arrived, we unpacked, ate at the world famous Cheesecake Factory, and then returned to our rooms to get our swimsuits on. We headed down to the fire pit/hot tub/pool area and spent well over an hour in the jacuzzi. It was so relaxing to just sit there and have UNINTERRUPTED conversations with my best friends. Afterwards, we went upstairs to our room and got comfy in our pajamas, pigged out on our "assigned" snacks, and had many wonderful and God glorifying conversations. We got pretty deep/personal. Developing our friendship is a tad more challenging with children present, so we made certain to make the most use of our time. We stayed up until 1 am and headed to bed. We made MANY wonderful memories, that's for sure.

On top of our serious conversations, we also had MUCH laughter. Our trip started off with a speeding ticket. YES, it was ME! I am definitely known to have a "heavy foot" but for this trip I worked extra hard to drive safe and slow. I didn't want to put my friends in danger, nor could I chance leaving my husband to face 5 other husbands and their children if something tragic happened. I thought the speed limit was 65 mph, but when I looked over at Jody, the speed limit changed to 60 mph. The cop said, "It changed about 8 miles back!" AHHHHHHH! Needless to say, I started my shopping spree $125 in the hole.

Erin Carroll was shaking literally. She said, "I've never been pulled over by a cop before." The girls made jokes about my question to the police officer, "May I ask why you pulled me over?" Isn't that a TYPICAL and COMMON SENSE question? SHEEESH! I seem to always be the target at a gathering. LOL! I guess it does make me feel loved in a sense.

After going to bed at 1 am on Friday night, a few of us were woken up 1 hour later to a massive drunk fest going on in our hotel's hallway. We were able to get the front desk to compensate us in a small way by allowing us a late check out, but that didn't help the lack of sleep some of us got. Erin said, "I literally got one hour of sleep last night!" Go figure, the one night we can get good sleep, we didn't.

On the way home, the car almost caught fire. Erin was trying to pump. Her adapter for the pump caught the car on fire, but Erin's reaction time was so quick, no damage took place. After much deliberation and attempts to find her an electrical outlet, we decided to head home. Poor Erin. Then, we decided to try a rest stop 15 miles up the road, where Erin was faced with making a VERY uncomfortable decision. For those of you who know her...you'd never believe this happened. She was forced to ask the rest stop attendant if she could use HIS office to pump. I'm sure that goes down as ONE of the MOST embarrassing moments for sweet, quiet, polite and VERY lady like Erin, but her charm allowed her to successfully pump using the attendant's office. While waiting for her to pump, we spotted Allison Ward and Mary Ward at the rest stop. What the heck? LOL!

We learned that our hubbies could most definitely survive and that is exactly why we plan to make this a yearly mother's day tradition. I'm not sure we've told them this yet! We figure we'd give it a good 9 months, just enough time for them to forget how hard that weekend away from mommy/wife really was, before telling them. :) We did learn that one hubby sent a massive text to the other hubbies which read, "I'm just not cut out for this!" Another hubby lost their child and had a neighbor return her. And one hubby was so scared to venture out with his two kids, so much, that he left his wife stranded with no keys and no way to get home. Good thing that's what friends are for. LOL! Enjoy the few photos taken of our trip.

We really missed you Dawn and Shannon. We pray you can come the next time!

Before I left town, I hand delivered a little "love note" to Shannon and Dawn, who could not make it on the trip. The note included some special sweet treats that I was assigned to bring. I wanted them to feel our presence and let them know that we would miss them.

The note read, "Rose are red. Violets are blue. This trip won't be the same without you!"

Traveling without car seats, strollers, diaper bags or KIDS! Once in a life time chance. Between the 5 of us, we were leaving 10 children behind. After shopping for multiple hours, we agreed the strollers actually do come in handy for bag transportation :)

Hanging out at the Cheesecake Factory. Ashely is laughing because the waitress was having the most difficult time using my camera. I said, "She's like a mom who takes forever to snap the perfect shot!" By the time the waitress finally figured it out, Ashely put her face in her hands. AHHHHH! Our only chance at a group shot.

I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not for that handful of friends who have given me a heart full of joy. Let's face it, friends make life a lot more fun. ~ Chuck Swindoll

This is Erin's salad at the Cheesecake Factory. It was monstrous.

We let go of our pride and put on our swimsuits. We shared it all that weekend, secrets, body dimples, and morning beauty/breath. We had no shame. BUT NOTICE someone is missing in this picture.... she was the smart one who offered to take the photo. What mommy wants to be captured on camera in her swimsuit?

After the hot tub, we got cozy in our pajamas and pigged out on all the "assigned" snacks that we brought.

Followed that up with great conversations.

Some serious!

Some funny, although I think everything is funny to Ashely :)

6 Days And Counting With My "Sensational 6"!

Next Friday, May 6th, the girls from our small group are leaving our husbands and children behind for a fantastic and much anticipated Mother's Day weekend in Richmond, VA. We are staying at the Sierra Hotel, located on the grounds of Short Pump Town Center. We have had this trip planned for over 2 months now and it's finally coming to fruition. We cannot wait!!!!!

Friday, we plan to leave early (11 am). We will spend Friday relaxing at our hotel and really enjoying each other's company away from the distraction of our cute little children. The hotel has a very quaint pool area which includes an adjoining hot tub, a gigantic fire pit, HUGE lounge chairs, and I think they even have a tiki bar. We also plan to eat dinner at the world's famous Cheesecake Factory!!! This is the ONE day I am allowing myself to splurge on sweets before my trip to the Bahamas in June.

Saturday morning, we plan to rise early, workout, eat a gourmet breakfast, included in the cost of our room charge, and finally SHOP, SHOP, SHOP!!!! I am really looking forward to this trip.

This plan originated after my insanely creative hubby left me a note for Valentine's Day with some cash that read,

"We want a day alone with our daddy! So please take this free pass. (1) day at Short Pump Mall or wherever with this money! When:? Whenever Where:? Wherever Who? Mommy & Friends."

I knew going alone would be NO FUN! So I chose the greatest women I know to join me. I am so thrilled to be shopping without diaper bags and strollers, but I am even more thrilled to create lasting memories with my "Sensational 6".

We will arrive home LATE Saturday night, just in time to be pampered on Mother's Day, we hope! LOL!

Rest, Relaxation, & Romance Is Heading Our Way!

Today, I booked a Couples Retreat Ritual for Darren and I while we are in the Bahamas. I am super excited to do this together. It will be so relaxing and very romantic, I think. Here's a sneak peak into how we will be pampered...

An indulgence just for two, the ritual begins with side by side massages in the deluxe spa villa where we will embark on a private journey together. We will relax in our generous soaking tub together containing fresh rose petals AND an additional 30 minutes of private time allows us to enjoy catered champagne and strawberries as well as lunch.

This might even be better than our wedding/honeymoon. We never even considered doing something like this 10 years ago. Next up, I want to book a super memorable excursion. Darren wants to snorkel. I want to scuba dive, BUT we are both afraid of being killed by a sea predator. YIKES!!!! God is sovereign though, so I am trying to remind myself that my day will end when it is supposed to end.