"The Best Birthday Ever"

Finally, I am updating my blog! I can't believe it's been so long. This week was pretty busy, I guess. Will have to update later. Because right now I can't wait to post my photos from this weekend. It was our first ever GIRLS WEEKEND! Back in May, we planned a great Mother's day gift for my mom- all the girls go to a condo in Deer Valley for 3 days. All my siblings, as well as my dad, pitched in. The men really pulled through by watching the kids for 3 days too. My mom was so excited to get away with all her daughters. She was also happy that the weekend happened to fall on her birthday, June 21st. It was like a double holiday. So, on Thursday evening we all met at Amy's house about 5:30 pm. We left work, kids, and all our cares at home.

We made a stop or two on the way up and finally arrived to check in about 7pm. To our dismay, we found the check-in desk CLOSED! After a very long phone call with customer service, we finally got a hold of Fidel at The Lodge and were sent to the correct check-in desk. Whew, that was a close one. We were starving by the time we got into the condo and trudged up 3 floors to the top level. Here's Lori, Jill, and Amy sorting through the food and putting things away.



We had a great dinner of our favorite chicken salad and fresh toasted rolls. We surprised Mom with her first gift- matching pj's for all of us. After getting comfortable, we sat on the couches and talked for hours. I don't know how we got on the subject, but we ended up telling our real life ghost stories. Later, we played Speed until we were about to drop. I seriously was blurry-eyed, sloppy-tired by 2am when we called it quits! I had been up since 6:30 am! We all found our beds and got cozy. The thought of sleeping in and having no kids to feed breakfast, get ready for swimming, or anything else was almost surreal.

Unfortunately, my internal alarm was going off about 6:30 and I had the hardest time going back to sleep. Don't you hate that? I was awake until about 7:15 and finally got back to sleep until around 9:30. Can't remember the last time I slept in that late! Mom and I got up and went for a walk. After a warm-up, I left her and ran around Main Street and Park Ave for a few miles. I loved the scenery, but not the hills! It was such a gorgeous run, I enjoyed the surroundings so much. I wish I had a camera. Speaking of cameras, with 4 bloggers in attendance, there were a LOT of photos being taken. It was so funny to see us all pulling out our cameras all the time and 'documenting' everything that was going on.



After we got ready and out the door (about noon) we headed for the shops. We grabbed some lunch at Red Rock first, then hit the outlets. I haven't been up there for about 3 years, so it was fun to see some of the new stores and find some good deals.



I found some cute shorts at O.N. for $12, a few cute shirts at Banana Rep, and a running skirt at Adidas. I am definitely the biggest shopper in my family, I could go all day. But after a few hours, Lori, Jill, and Amy decided to see a movie while Mom and I finished at the shops. We picked them up at 7:30 and we all went to Main Street to have a nice birthday dinner for Mom. We parked and walked (or should I say, hiked?) up the street finally deciding on an Italian place. There was a food, wine, and jazz festival going on, so it was really busy on the street.



Inside, it didn't seem to bad so we thought we would still be able to get dinner. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a horrible night- the waiter lost (still under debate) our ticket AND they were out of swordfish (both Mom and Amy ordered) AND the waiter was high (or just crazy). So, after an hour and a half we were still waiting for food! Luckily, we did have some bruschetta and bread before that... but we wanted our meals. Finally we got our meals and all of us wolfed them down. I felt bad for Mom since it was supposed to be a fun, nice birthday dinner. I tried to get the waiter to comp us some food or desserts, but he was pathetic and only gave us the complimentary birthday tiramisu and 10% off. Needless to say, I will never go back to that place.

We were so glad to get out of there and go home to have some yummy treats and watch a girlie movie. We put on The Holiday and enjoyed our caramel corn, M&Ms, and some tiramisu. We went to bed about 12:30, I think, an early night.

Saturday morning I didn't even try to fight the internal clock. At 6:45 I was ready to get up and enjoy the amazing scenery and gorgeous green hills of Deer Valley. Mom and I walked one loop around the park, then I ran a few more to get some mileage in. My knee was hurting after the hilly run the day before so I figured I should give it a rest. I should have iced it but I wouldn't want to waste the precious ice Jill brought (she thinks of everything) on my sorry knee.

While Mom was in the shower we decorated with streamers and such, then made a breakfast of cinnamon rolls, chocolate twists, lots of fruit, juice, etc. She said she felt like a queen and this was the "Best birthday ever". I was so happy that she felt spoiled and that she had a good time. I think everyone should feel like that on their birthday! I think she looks great. Did I mention this is her 60th?! Seriously, I think she is so cute and adorable. I hope I look so good when I am 60. Happy
Birthday Mom!



After breakfast we got the foot spas out and Mom soaked her feet. Lori gave her a nice pedicure then we all joined in, painting our toenails and scrubbing feet. We dried our pretty toes, then loaded up all our stuff to head out- very reluctantly, I might add. We had SOOO much food. It was like it doubled while we were there. It seemed like we hadn't eaten anything. We ended up buying a cooler to bring the perishable stuff back!



We ate lunch at Copper Creek Pub, right at the bottom of the Main Street chair lift. Mom and I both had a tasty, but very spicy, Southwest Sandwich. I have to say I really like the photo our waitress took.



The beautiful mountains made a gorgeous backdrop. Have I mentioned how much I love the mountains? Love it. After eating we hopped onto the lift for a scenic ride (which turned out to be a baking-in-the-sun ride). After an hour, we were all 3 shades darker, or redder.



We headed back to our cars and down the canyon to Amy's house. My dad, Andrew, Randy, Jared, and all the kids met us there. We had a little party for my mom's birthday.





It was so impressive that on top of watching kids for 3 days, both Jared and Adam had made cakes for my mom! After eating cake and ice cream and singing our family's rendition of Happy Birthday, Mom opened her gift, a huge framed collage of photos from the past 30+ years. It was really cute.

I had a great weekend, so I hope everyone else did too. I wish it was about twice as long, however. Still I was happy that we were all able to get away like this and that Mom had a fabulous birthday. Thanks everyone!