Cares to the Wind Weekend 2011

In the nearly 22 months since Connor was born I think I can count on one hand the number of nights I have spent away from him...one of them includes the night I spent in the hospital when he was 3 months old because I had surgery (not exactly what you call a 'relaxing' night off for a new mommy!!!) I think it was safe to say that when talk of a girls weekend started to get tossed around last winter I was ALL ABOUT IT! Believe me, I treasure all the time I have with Connor, I am blessed to be able to stay home with him...and I guess I really don't need to explain myself...Mommies need some time off too!!

After a few months of talking...waiting through a less than pleasant spring (remember how winter kinda sorta seemed to last until almost May this year?)...summer finally arrived and so did our girls weekend!!! I took some pictures but stole plenty of these from Sara, her camera was designated the "offical" camera of the weekend...thanks for documenting our time together!!

We kicked the weekend off with a DELICIOUS meal of broasted chicken at the Brass Rail in Grandy. You haven't had GOOD broasted chicken unless you've had it here! We all savored every bite and also enjoyed a night off from preparing meals at home :)

Me & Missy took our first pregnant picture together! Good idea to document this once in a lifetime event. I am 16 weeks and Missy is 19 in this picture...the babies will be best buds from the start :)

After dinner we made our way to the lake and unloaded cars and just RELAXED!!! We spent the evening talking, laughing and discussing our schedule free weekend!

We had a little rain the next morning and we were also waiting for Jenni to arrive, so we decided to head out for some retail therapy in nearby Rock Creek.

We met some new furry friends; Oscar & Gladys...they were cute & snuggly. Becky wanted to take them home with her :) Instead of taking a cat we found sunglasses & jewelry.

We drove back to the lake & got ready to head out for some sunshine!! I had to get a quick belly shot in....

...there were other shots involved for these ladies a bit later ;)

FINALLY!! Ready for the lake!!!

Sara, Me & Jenni enoying the sunshine & the lovely boat ride

Boat Captain & hostess extraordinaire Becky & Amy also loving the lake!!!

Big smiles for the perfect weather :)

And more big smiles for Jenni - she inspried our 'Cares to the Wind' motto for the weekend!!!!

Just to prove that we weren't lazy bums the whole weekend...Sara snuck in a few push ups before we got out on the lake.

And Amy got serious lifting some weights...impressive power cleaning skills..woot woot!!

Gotta show a little love for the bicep ;)

Bellying up to Bitty's Bar...notice the prego gal is the bar tender...alchol free drinks for me ;)

Becky & Amy showing off their new DG sunglasses....and yes...in the bottom left corner Becky is rockin' a piece of Bear Flair...it's a new trend :)

We had an immediate emergency...a LEAK in the relaxation station!!! Thumbs down all around for this tragic event. Dick tried to patch it but eventually we all bailed out and then....

...blew up ANOTHER relaxation station!! Yep, Becky had a back up on hand (convenient...I know!) Dick & his always helpful neighbor Pete helped us get things inflated & ready for use.

Speaking of emergencies --- The bobber cooler was taking on water!! Sara had to rescue it and quick!!!!

There you have it, proof that we had 2 relaxation stations floating in the water!

Saturday night we left the water and went back to have dinner at Becky's place. We then made our way around the lake to Flickabirds for Flickafest!! We had no clue this event was planned for the same date as our girls weekend but figured it might be a fun event to check out. It was certainly an entertaining evening. East River Rock was the band hired to entertain the Flickfest crowd. Their vocals weren't exactly spot on, but they provided some decent tunes and we kicked up our heels on the dance floor (a.k.a parking lot) for a little while.

We shared a beverage or two with Petey, met a few random strangers & even got to take in a fire works show!! Our picnic table turned out to be just a tad close to the fireworks and we were occasionally showered with the floating bits of leftovers...cover your drinks girls :)

We left the party before it was really over but decided a campfire & a little more quality girl time was the best way to end our evening. After some hard work from Becky & Amy we got to actually enjoy a fire and sat outside until we all started to feel sleepy.

We all slept in the next morning (what a luxury!!!) had breakfast and then spent several more hours back in the relaxation station before packing our bags and heading for home.

I arrived home with a sunburned belly (eeek!!) and rested body, re-energized mind & even vacuumed floors!!! Connor didn't want his Daddy to leave for work that night which confirmed for me that their Daddy/son weekend was just as special & needed as my girls weekend away.

Cares to the Wind 2011 was a complete success & I am hoping it becomes a yearly event!