girl's trip and my tiny dancer

When I was younger, I remember my mom going to trips with her friends' and being so jealous.  I couldn't wait for the day that I would have close friends to go on short weekend trips with.  :)  Well, that day is finally here!  This weekend some of my favorite mama friends and I took an overnight tip.  So, so fun! 

I've blogged about these girls numerous times.  You can see their cute little boys in many of my posts.  Since Kason has been born, these three ladies have been a big part of my life.  When we're out in public with all the boys we often hear, "It must have been so fun to plan it so all of your boys were born at the same time!"  Little do they know, we weren't even close friends before the boys were born.  Some of us didn't even know each other.  When Kason was born and about 2 months old I remember suddenly feeling very alone.  Due to his reflux, he was extremely fussy (aka screamed ALL THE TIME) and I felt like no one else could understand how exhausting and frustrating it was.  I felt lost and like I just wanted so badly to talk to someone that could relate to me, and wouldn't judge me.  I prayed SO hard for God to place people in my life that were going through the same things Duane and I were.  Sure enough, a month or so later, my friend Megan sent a message via Facebook and asked if the 4 of us could get together at the park.  We didn't know each other well, but we knew of each other all had some things in common.  We all had boys that were born within 2 months of each other (3 were born within 2 weeks), we all were first time parents, we all were raising Christian boys, and we were all teachers.  It just made sense that we become friends! :)  We made arrangements and met a week or so later.  I kid you not when I say we walked for almost 2 hours and talked the ENTIRE time...even in the rain!  We discussed things like, how much if your baby eating, how is he sleeping at night, how much does he poop (you think I'm joking..I'm pretty much that comes up every time we're together).  It was SO nice to talk openly about being a first time mom and the joys and struggles that come along with that.  I am a true believer that God provides friends for every season of your life, and he definitely knew what he was doing on that day at the park.  Since then, we have had many play dates, outings, date nights, venting sessions, long phone conversations etc.  Our boys love to play together and recognize each other when in a group with other unfamiliar children.  We hope that they continue to be friends forever, but while we can choose their friends, we know they will have lots of fun!

{Erin and Megan with their stuff!  Believe it or not, we all stayed way UNDER budget!}

A month or so ago we talked about going to a local outlet mall over labor day weekend.  I got to thinking about it and thought it'd be really fun if we went out of town, shopped, and stayed the night in a hotel.  We could get away for a night, be kids free, and do some shopping.  It would be a much needed break.  We left yesterday morning and drove a few hours to an outlet mall in Ohio.  Because of a detour (and THREE stops, HA!), it took a little longer than expected, but it literally felt like we were only in the car for 10 minutes.  I don't think there was a moment of silence.  Once we got to the mall we had lunch, and shopped!  Since we all agree that our boys are WAY better dressed than we are, we agreed that we would go into one kids' store, and then one store for us.  Although we ended up in way more kids' stores, we did all manage to get some stuff for ourselves as well!  We left the mall in the evening, drove to Cincinnati, and headed to dinner.  We ate dinner at 9:30, which is about 3 hours later than we do at home and about an hour and a half past our little guy's bedtimes.  We went back to the hotel and talked for another few hours and finally went to bed around 1:30 am.  Pretty late for us!  This morning we woke up late and laid in bed until 9:30.  I don't remember the last time I have been able to do that!  So, so nice!  We had lunch and headed home to our boys.

{Megan and I with out stuff!  Yes, there are two Megans.  And two Nolans.  It gets confusing at times!}

I can't tell you how good it was to get away.  These 3 girls are so fun to be around and I laugh so hard every time we are all together.  I feel completely comfortable with them and I can share anything with them and never feel like I'm being judged.  We are all first time moms, and know that we're all learning, so we don't judge, we listen and support.  We supported each other through our going back to work struggles last year and since, they have been SO supportive of my new photography business and my choice to stay home.  We laughed so hard this weekend, and also cried a few times (thanks Megan J :)).    We talked about everything from our childhood memories to the HUGE responsibility involved in raising our boys to love Jesus above everything else.  There wasn't a silent moment except when we were sleeping. :)

{Megan and Megan at dinner}

I am so thankful for friends like these girls.  I'm pretty sure we will be friends for a lot of years!  I cannot wait to watch of boys (and future children) grow up together.  Thanks for a fun weekend girls!  Can't wait to do it again soon! 

{Erin and I.  This girl makes me laugh harder than almost anyone else!}

PS - please excuse the crummy iPhone photos!  I left my big camera at home so I didn't have to work about editing MORE pictures!

PSS - I missed Kason A TON!  Here is a sweet video of him dancing!  He is SO funny.  And yes, I know that it's not a great idea to let my child dance on the coffee table.  He just learned to do that tonight and Duane was right there.  Parenting at its finest. :)