Girl's Weekend

Last Saturday, Tory and I joined up with my girlfriend Val and her daughter, Linden (12 months), for a roadtrip to Des Moines, Iowa. While Iowa might not sound like capital F-U-N to most people, Val and I were estastic to meet up with our dear friend Ashley and her son Easton (5 months) for a girl's (and infant boy) weekend away. Des Moines is the half-way point between Omaha and Minneapolis and we try to make this trip to see each other once a year. Andi thought we were nuts for planning a weekend trip that included staying in a hotel room with three adults and four children (Val's son Kasen ended up staying home with his Dad last-minute, so it ended up being three adults and three kids).

I was a little nervous about Tory's car behavior. Andi andI drive to the cabin with her often (a 1 1/2 hour trip) but she's rarely been in the car for four hours at a time. Plus, Andi and I are her parents and if she blows into full-on meltdown mode, than we're conditioned to tolerate it. I didn't want to subject my friend Val to the same experience. (Although, Val's a mama to two toddlers so she's accustomed to her fair share of "noise"). Armed with an iPad, episodes of Bubble Guppies and plenty of snacks, Tory did pretty well on the drive until the last 30 minutes.

Ready to roadtrip
This kiddo - she cracks me up!

Once we arrived in Des Moines, we met Ashley and Easton, along with Val's friend Lisa, at Bravo! Italian Restaurant. Tory was hungry, hot and ticked from being cooped up in her car seat so going out to eat wasn't probably the best idea. It took forever to be seated at the restaurant and for our waitress to greet us. The minute she did, I demanded bread for our table. There was only so many snacks Tory would tolerate - she needed real food to calm the heck down. Tory insisted on sitting on my lap (vs. the restaurant high chair) and made a complete mess of our table area. I was completely frazzled by the time we left. It's those moments where I really miss my husband/daddy side-kick.

After lunch, Tory was in much better shape and we all decided to take the kiddos to the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines. All the kids fell asleep on the car ride there, so the three of us ladies hung out on my tailgate for 30 minutes or so, caught up and basked in the glorious sunshine. All was well again and I was in the company of two of my favorite ladies.

Tailgate hang-out while the kiddos slept in their car seats
L to R: Me, Ashley and Valerie

The zoo was great! The sun was shining and Tory absolutely loved the animals. This zoo was small and most of the exhibits were up close, so Tory was in heaven making animals sounds and seeing monkeys, a tiger, goats, pigs and llamas.

Tory talking to the goats

 This was us, trying to get Linden and Tory to pose for a picture together. Quite impossible, really.

After the zoo, we checked into our hotel and decided to take the kids swimming in the indoor pool. This was Easton's first time swimming! Tory and Linden loved the water and swam and splashed with  delight.

We put the kiddos to bed in their respective pack-n-plays and ordered pizza in for dinner. I had the best night in a long time -- the three of us girls laughed and talked for hours. It's a true gift to have these girls as my best friends. 

Much too soon, we departed for home on Sunday morning. It definitely wasn't enough time together, but I'm grateful for the opportunity to spend a day with these two ladies and their kiddos.

Until next time!

We joked that "next time" we should plan a kid-free trip to Chicago for shopping and lots of wine when none of us are pregnant or nursing a bebe. (Two years ago when we all got together in Des Moines, I was pregnant with Tory. Last year, Val was pregnant with Linden and this year, I'm pregnant again and Ashley is nursing Easton). Maybe in 2016 :)