In March I was needing a little break from the daily grind of life. Bry picked up on it (aka he witnessed me losing it and blowing up at Alex) and suggested that Aimee & I fly to Utah for the weekend. As well-intended as the suggestion was, it made me anxious of spending 2 half days flying with a very BUSY baby and then trying to figure out how to divide my 3 days while there with family. I pondered it for awhile, trying to be open-minded about where I can go and who I could visit. I thought through a variety of ideas, but most of them made me anxious for one reason or another (can you tell that I've been dealing with a lot of anxiety lately??). Finally I had the thought for Aimee & I to take a road trip to Michigan to visit my friend Tiffany Thornock and her little family. The idea gave me a peaceful, calm and happy feeling so I called her up and proposed the idea. She said that she needed to check with her husband and would call me back. 30 seconds later she said to pack my bags and the trip was a go! Now, if Brad knew that it would mean showing us around Frankenmeuth in the cold or lending me Tiffany for late night chats, thrift shopping or an overnight GNO in Ann Arbor, he made not have agreed ;0)...But he did and even let Aimee & I have their master suite while we stayed there. What friends!! A HUGE shout out to Bry for being willing to man the house and the crew for 5 days so I could have a mom vacation!
Family selfie before heading out!
Friday Aimee & I headed out for Michigan. She was the cutest and best little travel companion. Other than stopping to shade her car seat with a blanket and a mandatory stop at a chocolate shop along the way, we really cruised right along. I felt so blessed. And it probably didn't hurt that we were listening to Nathan Pacheco for much of the way. I LOVE his first CD.
18-22 March 2016
That evening we met up with the Thornocks in Frankenmuth for a yummy friend chicken dinner, to shop at the Bavarian style stores and at Bronner's Christmas Wonderland. It was truly AMAZING with hundreds of thousands of beautiful, unique and themed Christmas ornaments and decorations. With it being Easter time Aimee even got to have her picture taken with the Easter bunny :0)
Saturday Tiff, Aimee and I headed over to the Stake Center for the Midland Stake (?) Women's Conference. It was just the boost of encouragement, spirit and inspiration that I needed. It was so well done (a key note speaker, break out groups, lunch and a cute & entertaining performance) and I really felt like it was providential timing that I was there to attend it. Afterwards Brad was a good sport to listen for (supposedly) napping babies while Tiff and I went thrift shopping...next best thing to the good ol' Goodwill Outlet. That night we had a pizza party and watched "Shaun the Sheep the Movie" (It was not nearly as funny as the episodes, but we still had a good time).
Sunday it was a crazy calm experiencing attending sacrament meeting with just Aimee. It was fun to watch Olsen and Aimee crawl around in front of the first pew as Tiffany played the organ. I attended all of Sunday School in the first time since a LONG time. And then a dear sweet sister in the ward walked Aimee around in the halls so I could attend Relief Society. (I have to admit though that I realized how much I LOVE doing music in primary--all the moving around, singing and fun!)
After church I took some family pictures of Tiff and her CUTE family and then followed her around with a camera to capture some of the many sweet moments of her & her kids. She is such a wonderful mom and I was touched by how hard they work to raise their kids with love and consistency and the gospel. That evening we drove out to see Saginaw Bay. It was FREEZING cold in flip flops but SO beautiful and worth the walking in the cold. What a lovely beach only a half hour from their place. I was amazed at how HUGE Lake Huron is, and (as silly as this is) that Detroit is on the US/Canada border.
Monday we drove past Saginaw State University where Brad works then on to Ann Arbor. It was a really fun overnight GNO to finish off the trip (I got a great deal on 2 rooms at a Marriott in Brighton) that of course included YUMMY food (Frita Batidos for lunch, lots of cherry-infused samples, Dibella's subs for dinner and Cracker Barrel for breakfast) and shopping! And can't forget the last of our late night conversations and heart to hearts.
OH and Tiff drove me around University of Michigan and did an impromptu drop off so I could run and see the AMAZINGLY ornate law library. As silly as it is, it was so nice to be able to hop out of the van with no diaper bag or stroller or worry of carefully crossing the street. A little moment of freedom ;0)
Loved this pillow, because it rings true AND because we are a "Normal" family :0)
And there you have it. A wonderful and needed mom vacation. Yet I was grateful and excited to come home to 3 sweet kids and an awesome husband who were excited to see me!...
Tiffany is such a GREAT friend and I feel blessed to know her. It was so wonderful to reconnect. Til next girls' trip!
