Weekend Away

This past weekend, Chris and I got to go away without the kids. Yes, it was wonderful.

Before I could leave, I needed to bake cookies for a cookie exchange Sunday night. They aren't pretty but they are very yummy.
Wesley enjoyed having a cookie after his nap. I made the cookies during naptime because that is when I had time; other wise, I would have let him help me.
My parents came up on Friday to stay with the kids. My dad was helping me clean up the kitchen and he was doing the dishes for me. I knew he would lick the bowl with the mettled chocolate but I was surprised to see him sharing with Wesley.

So, where did Chris and I go? Well, it was less than 20 minutes from our house but it felt like a thousand miles away.

This weekend was a gift - a very generous gift. Last year I referred a neighbor, who I had only recently met, to a realtor I knew from church. The neighbor met with a few realtors but she said Vicki far exceeded the others. Vicki told me that if she sold the house she would give me and Chris a night at the Ritz. Woo hoo! Does anyone else, who doens't know Vicki, need to sell their house? Please tell Vicki that I sent you!

On Friday night, we went to Wildfire. Based on Vicki's recommendation we asked for a sidecar. This gave us a private booth in which to enjoy the delicious food. We had to wait a little longer for the sidecar but it was worth it. We have found a new favorite restaurant! The steak was perfect and the chopped salad was incredible. It makes me hungry just thinking about that salad.

The Ritz was beautifully decorated for Christmas. This gingerbread village was adorable.

Here are the Santa Clauses with President Washington.

After a nice breakfast buffet at the hotel, we headed over to Tyson’s to do some Christmas shopping. We had a great time buying for ourselves and others. I so appreciated getting to shop without two little kids and without having to rush home to them either. We had lunch at the mall and shopped some more.

We decided to leave about 5:00. After all, don't you think 6 hours at the mall is long enough?

When we got to our car on the third level of the parking garage, the line to leave was backed up to where we were parked. We watched the line and saw that it didn't move for five minutes. We got out of the car and went back into the mall to have a drink and wait for the place to clear out some. We enjoyed people watching in the mall and thankfully we had no problems leaving at 6:30.

I felt like we were on vacation! It was great to spend the weekend with just Chris. We had so much fun!

So, thanks Vicki, Nana, and Pawpaw for a great weekend!