Girls' Weekend

Well, here it all is: the longest post in a long time to show you exactly what my weekend was like.  I don't know if you're necessarily interested in the tiny details, but I am excited to document it and relive the good times through photos. 

We all arrived on Friday evening, me by plane, Rachel and Tamara by car, all at Karlie's house.  Oh the hugs and squeals of delight we gave!!  Karlie's husband, Jared, graciously moved out for the weekend, taking Sam with him, so that we girls could have a big house all to ourselves.

We immediately went to the Chandler Mall and put our names in at The Cheesecake Factory.  While waiting for our pager to buzz, we perused the mall, including the puppy store, and the toy store.  Tamara and I were inspired to live like kids and we "snuck" into the child-sized jumper in the toy store--such stupid fun! Rach and Karlie looked on in embarrassment, but Rach was able to get a few pictures before the minimum-wage night worker kicked us out of the jumper.  In our defense, the sign said "no shoes," not "no adults!"

Luckily, our table was ready then! Karlie and Rach were relieved and T and I giggled all the way. We took our seats around 9 and didn't leave until after 11.  Part of our talking was with Jesse, the super cute waiter.  I conned Rach and T into taking a picture with him and they enjoyed smelling him! We enjoyed lingering for a really long time, talking and laughing, the type of thing we don't usually get to do when we feel responsible to our husbands and babies to get home a.s.a.p. in our real lives.

The next day, we slept in a little, then hit the spa.  OH THE SPA. I cannot tell you how much I absolutely loved it.  There was a lot less talking and laughing because we were in separate rooms for much of it, just enjoying our own relaxing experiences. I had a facial, a hot stone massage, and a body wrap.  At one point, I felt more relaxed than I ever remember being.  The body wrap was the best part for me; I was rubbed with oil, scrubbed with salts, slathered in warm mud, wrapped up like a burrito, then massaged with lotion.  Oh. My. Gosh.  If you have the means, I highly recommend it as your next splurge.

Rachel got a haircut at the spa.  She was excited to get a new style, but eneded up really hating it.  We told her it looked cute, as you can see below.  However, since a woman's hair is NEVER about how her friends feel about it, only about how she feels about it, Rachel had every right to be unhappy. (Don't worry, this part of the story has a happy ending later.)

Karlie's body wrap below.  I interrupted her zen-like state of relaxation for a quick pic.

After such a relaxing day, we went back to the house and had some naps.  We decided to go to a nearby pizza place for dinner.  The girls all tried on my glasses because they loved them so much. :)

After dinner we went to the mall to do some good, old-fashioned shopping. What else do women do when they're together?! We each found clothes we liked, especially for our kids at Children's Place. We introduced Karlie to Forever 21 and she found some cute stuff, including this jacket.  Yes, we realize it's May and she lives in Phoenix, but it was just too adorable to pass up.
We stayed up late again that night, talking and laughing.  I "forced" the girls to watch "Lars and the Real Girl," one of my new favorite movies.  They ended up really liking it, so I didn't feel so bad for forcing them!

Then came Sunday. We slept in a little again; church wasn't until 12:30 so we could afford the leisurely morning.  We made a wonderful breakfast of french toast, omelets, and fruit salad. We talked some more, then finally got ready for church.  We even had the opportunity to go help a girl in Karlie's ward get ready for church.  She's a quadriplegic and just needed help getting her church clothes on. It was really fun to meet Missy, a fiery red-head with a really sweet smile.  It felt good to do something selfless on an otherwise self-indulgent weekend.

We went to my parent's ward, the singles' ward where my dad is in the bishopric. Mom brought Rebekah and I really enjoyed holding her.  I didn't realize how much I'd miss her until I saw her again.  I felt like she had gotten prettier in just the two days of being apart! 

We did have to leave eventually, but it was okay. Bekah was getting fussy and it was kinda nice to leave her behind for a change! (Guilty pleasure, for sure!) I'm sure mom didn't mind though! We went to Karlie's mom's house.  First, we spent time with Karlie's new niece, Haylie (I hope that's spelled right, K!). She was so sweet!  Rach used her mad photography skills to capture some beautiful pictures of her. Only mine are posted here, but you can see some of the professional ones here.

The other purpose of that long drive to Rosanne's was to get Rachel's second haircut.  She was excited to have such a wonderful (free!) resource to fix the damage.  The picture shows how happy she was after it was all done.

We got to spend some time in Rosanne's wonderful garden. I need to remind you here that she also lives in Phoenix.  She has the greenest thumb of anyone I know.  She touches raw earth and it sprouts beautiful living things! She's amazing.  We especially enjoyed the yummy fresh peaches (which we turned into a delicious cobbler later), and the flowers. What a beautiful background for our annual "Da Women" picture!

We had a great meal by Rachel (lemon chicken, flavored with brown sugar and sage!), and the aforementioned cobbler made by Karlie. She had run out of aprons, so she wore Sam's, telling us "it's not that small!" Well, it was THAT small, but she worked it anyway! Later that night, we gave each other pedicures and stayed up late again, talking and laughing.

The next day was the last day. :(  It was hard to say goodbye, as it always is. Rachel left first because she had to drive home, all the way to Farmington, NM. Karlie, Tamara and I enjoyed a few final hours together at the fabric store where I purchased the stuff for my apron.  (I'm so excited about the upcoming apron swap!)

Karlie took me back to mom's house where I was reunited with my dear Bekah-Boo. Jason, Amy and the boys were also there, just to squeeze in a few moments with us before my afternoon flight. I really enjoyed the time with them. I caught this final shot of Jason "watching" Cooper.  I guess he had a tiring weekend too!

I got one last little nap before heading to the airport.  Bekah was well-behaved on the plane again, even sleeping a little in my arms. We were happily greeted by Malcom back at the Burbank airport.  We were both surprised when he admitted that he missed his little girl! We enjoyed a leisurely evening together after Bekah went to bed. I tried to milk the last few moments of a long weekend, but I had to grade a few papers too.  Tuesday was a crazy detox, coming down off the high of being with my girls all weekend.  I kept turning around, expecting to see them with me, or laugh at some stupid inside joke. 

I hope it won't be as long before the next time we can all get together and be our crazy selves again.  I love you girls.  Thank you for a WONDERFUL weekend.