A Girl's Getaway...

At the tail-end of our Christmas break, I got to get away with two of my very dearest friends. No kids, no husbands, just the three us. We ended up leaving late Sunday evening instead of Monday morning, to beat a blizzard that was predicted to cross our path. We drove half the way Sunday night to Canyon and then hit the road early Monday to finish the trip to Angel Fire just as the snow began to fall. As we drove through the pass, big puffy snowflakes started to fall and it was like driving through our very own winter wonderland!

Of course, half the fun is getting there- stopping a million times to let our pregnant co-pilot go potty, grabbing convenient store grub, singing our hearts out to JT, the Dixie Chicks and Parker McCollum, and endless girl chatter that is just not possible without children around.

Once we arrived, we hit up the local grocery store to stock the kitchen before the roads got bad. We got sandwich food, breakfast food, stuff to make taco soup, ramen noodles and what proved to the favorite- squirt cheese with Ritz. I successfully ate an entire box of French Toast Crunch and drank almost a whole box of hot tea.

We went to bed when we pleased, we slept till we weren't tired, we read, we sipped hot tea and coffee, we built fires any man would be jealous of and snuggled under our blankets while bawling our eyes out to The Holiday, Me Before You and Marley & Me. This was the first time in my life I have ever taken a vacation to do absolutely nothing- and it was glorious!

When Wednesday rolled around, we finally found the itch to stretch our legs a bit and ventured over to Taos to have lunch and shop. We found all kinds of goodies for ourselves, our kids and even a little something for our guys. When we bought out the Town Square, we hit up a few shops in Angel Fire and ended our night at a favorite pizza place for dinner. We brought our take-out home, snuggled up in front of the TV while stuffing ourselves with pizza and garlic knots.

Thursday, we slept in and spent the morning in our comfy spots for the week while we woke up. We ended up visiting a local salon where we go the worst manicures of our lives- which made us laugh so hard we were all but peeing our pants and then went to dinner at the Country Club bar. We had drinks, pulled up funny pictures on our phones and stayed at the restaurant for 4.5 hours not believing that our time was up and that the next day we would be making our trek back home.

This trip was so good for my soul. Getting away with people who love me, tease me, cheer me through this chaotic life, make me laugh until I cry and Snap me when I can't stay awake in the car- these are the girls that make mothering so much fun!

Find your people, cherish them, make time with them a priority and love them as often as you can.







These 5 deer visited us all week. I think they liked the ritz crackers we fed them!













Micah, long ago, got the notion that I was an Indian. As the years have gone by, I went from his Indian Princess, to his Squaw and now I am simply 'Squawby' to our little circle. When I found this wooden Indian, I had to get my picture with him because if Micah would have been there, there is no way he would have let that photo opportunity slip by...