Girlfirend's Retreat

My friend Brooke invited me and two other friends to spend last Saturday and Sunday with her at Ocean Shores. She was feeling the need to take a break from being a mom and reconnect with herself, and I was only too happy to help!

I feel like I got an extra night away from mommy-hood, since Friday night was the annual father/son campout (which I was going to post about, but Brad wasn't feeling well when they went and didn't take any pictures) and he took Nathan and Ben. I spent Friday night with Jillian and Kylie, first at Teryaki Town for dinner, then Mora's for icecream, then dropped Jillian off at a birthday party and Kylie took me out to see the new Star Trek movie.

When the husbands got home Saturday morning, the wives took off. We headed out to Ocean Shores and ended up at Collin's Inn and Seaside Cottages, the perfect spot for relaxing. The cottage we stayed in was beautiful, only a few months old, and right by the beach. Waiting for us was a beautiful boquet of flowers and a plate of chocolate covered strawberries with a card that said "To our Wives, with Love from the Husbands."

I felt so refreshed spending time with friends away from daily responsiblities and children's demands. Standing on the porch watching the sunset was bliss.

Sunday morning, I went for a long walk, and I learned something about myself. I might be able to be a jogger someday if I lived in Ocean Shores where the roads are all totally flat and there are bright yellow fire hydrants every 1/8th of a mile encouraging me to "just jog past two then walk past two, and repeat..."

After we checked out of our cottage, we drove down to the beach and sat in the warm sand. Although the sun wasn't out like we were expecting, it was still nice to listen to the waves and run my fingers through the sand without worrying about anything.

It was a wonderful weekend. I learned a lot about my friends, too. I learned that Outi can laugh and cry at the same time, and make me do the same. If I'm ever in a brawl, I want Mariann on my team. And if I ever go elk hunting, Brooke's the babe to bring along to call the elk!

(Sorry the video is tilted wrong. I always forget that I can't turn the camera like that when I'm video taping!)