Girls Only Road Trip

A couple weeks ago, the girls & I went on a road trip for a couple days. We went up to the Jacksonville area in North Florida. One of my cousins was having a baby shower for her first baby on Saturday afternoon (Jan 24) about 2pm. I called the hostess on Thursday night to let her know we were coming, but wanted it to be a surprise. Then, Friday night, it struck me that a family we'd homeschooled with for several years had moved to the Jax area 3 years ago. Maybe we could see them while we were there, too. So, I called the mom, Lisa, and arranged to meet them after the shower. It turned out, they live just 15 minutes from our hotel!

Anyhoo, the girls & I left about 6 am and headed north. We found the hotel & checked in. Then, we changed our clothes and set out for the baby shower. We found my cousin's house (first time going alone) with no problem, thanks to map quest. lol As we drove up, her husband was shocked to see me and just looked at me for a second, as if he couldn't believe he was seeing correctly. It was funny. He told me here to park and said, "She's gonna be so surprised to see you!" We parked the car, walked up to the door, and I got the camera ready. Then we knocked, opened the door and snapped a cute picture of my very surprised cousin, Sarah. It was great!

We had a great time at the shower and we found out, just this past Saturday, the 7th, she had her precious first child Alexander. Here's a picture of the girls & I with a very pregnant Sarah.

After we left the shower, I called Lisa to get directions to her house. Can you believe she lives just 5 minutes from Sarah?? I couldn't believe it! Anyway, we were able to visit with Lisa and her family or about 2 hours or so. What a nice visit! And their house is beautiful! I don't think we've even seen them since they moved! Since they've been gone, Lisa had her 5th baby, an adorable little girl with bright red hair. And, you know I'm partial to redheads. lol

Lisa's big kids stair step with my girls. First is her daughter, then Savannah, then her son, then Ashton. These 4 used to play together all the time when they lived here, so it was neat to see them all together again. I think they really enjoyed seeing each other. I'm so glad we were able to visit!

After we left Lisa's house, we stopped by the grocery store for some late night snacks, then headed back to the hotel. The girls stayed up late watching tv while I read my book. The next morning, we stopped for a wonderful breakfast at the Cracker Barrel just yards from our hotel. Yum! And, of course we shopped there, too. Then we finally headed home. It was a very nice, fun, and uneventful trip. I think the girls & I will have to escape again sometime! lol