2008 Annual Girls Trip!!!

Applebee's...this was the night my allergies decided to kick in!

Carson decided to start making this funny face while we were there!

This was Carries tradition each day while we were there! That poor bunny!

Chocolate marshmallow bunnies for breakfast!

Mom and Lauri on a team!

Can you believe she gets the senior discount!

Go Brita!

I love this picture of Carrie!

This was outside of Aunt Chilada's...authentic Mexican...yummy!

Aunt Lauri and little Carson!

This was the REALLY long walk we went on Sunday! Lauri and her poses!

We have talked about having this trip every year, but we finally did it!!! My sisters (minus Rikki...so sad she couldn't be there), mom, and sister-in-law, Brita all went to Phoenix for a week with no children and pure FREEDOM! My other sister-in-law, Kristen wasn't able to make because she had a 1 month old. Brita brought Carson, who is 5 months old, and he was a little doll! He did such a good job and we all loved spending time with our little nephew! We all flew into Phoenix on Saturday February 21, 2009! Mom and Carrie drove, so we didn't have to rent a car and that was nice. They were at the airport to pick up me, Lauri, and Brita! I don't have all of the pictures yet, so I will be posting more when I get them from Carrie! Lets just say we had a BLAST!!! We talked, laughed, stayed up late, slept in, relaxed at the pool and hot tub, played tennis, shopped till we literally dropped, ate out every night for dinner, saw a movie, and just had FUN!!! Funny story: On Sunday, we got up and went on a really long walk! We had decided that we wanted to go to church and there were 3 different times we could go. We missed the 9:00, 11:00, so the 1:00 was our last option. We all wanted to go to church because we had no kids and could just enjoy the meeting. We get all dressed up and head off to the chapel! Well, we couldn't find the chapel. We drove around for probably a good 40 minutes and never found it. So we went back to the room, changed clothes, and headed off to lunch. We looked on the map and if we would have just gone up 1 more street we would have been there. However, it would have been the Spanish branch and we didn't know that! At least we tried...right?

I don't really remember what we did each of the days, but I know we went to Ross a lot! We went and saw the movie, New In Town, and laughed our heads off! It was so fun to watch a good movie that made you laugh and feel good at the end! We played tennis everyday and I loved that! Talk about a good way to exercise and enjoy it while you do it! Carrie and Mom were by the far the best players, but I really think that we all improved and definitely want to play tennis on our next trip! The weather was in the 80's the entire time we were there, so we really enjoyed going to the pool and getting some sun on our white bodies! I was going to take a picture of us the last day there, so we could see that we really did get some color while we were there, but I forgot! The pool was pretty cold, but it felt really good after baking in the hot sun! Carrie and I pulled mom and Lauri in...we are so mean! Mom only played 1 round of golf and that shocked us all! She got a massage while the rest of us saved our money for other things! We bought groceries at the beginning of the week and decided to have breakfast and lunch in the room and eat out for dinner! It worked out really well and we saved a lot of money that way! Our cheapest meal was Little Caesars pizza ($2.50 each) and I think our favorite meal was the Cheesecake Factory! We stayed at the Legacy Resort and it was so beautiful! When I get the rest of the pictures, I will be sure to post them! They had beautiful flowers and I don't know if that was the reason my allergies were so bad for a few days! I was a little miserable, but after my sister, Carrie, told me to take Benadryl before bed, I was good as new! You saved me, Carrie!! Our room was very nice and I have to thank my mom for the accommodations! We were able to use her points from their timeshare, so we didn't have to pay any money to stay at such a beautiful place! Thank you Mom!! Carrie and I shared a room, mom slept on the pull out couch and Lauri and Brita shared a room! It worked out great!

Although I enjoyed being away, I missed the hugs and kisses from my kids and husband! I have to also give a BIG THANKS to my husband! He is such a WONDERFUL husband and father! He WILLINGLY stayed home with the boys for the entire week and played the role of "mom"! He did such a great job and he really enjoyed being home with the boys! I was also impressed that the house was still in tack when I got home, just really dirty(he tried)! I was so proud of him because he didn't complain at all and he even accomplished a few things! He taught Tag how to hold his own bottle...thank you, thank you, thank you!!! He got Ty to go to bed on his own again (music to my ears)!! Do I have a GREAT husband or what! To pay him back I let him go to the Gun Club with his friends and have the entire day to himself!

I had a blast and I can't wait for next year! I think it is the best thing you can do for yourself and your family! Having that time away has definitely made me a better mother and wife! I feel like I had "my time" and now I am back to work! I want all of my sisters and mom to know how much I love each of you and look forward to many more girl trips! Thanks for all the fun memories!!