Thursday, January 14, 2010

Just what the doctor ordered

Getting out of town for the weekend totally hit the spot.

On Thursday evening the kids and I went to my friend Jenny's in Sandy. We planned to stay just for a couple of hours but we were having such an awesome time that the night morphed into a slumber party! Jenny is one of those friends that you can say absolutely anything to, so I just basked in our conversation and the night turned out to be a great therapy session for both of us. Imagine my delight when I stepped into Jenny's office to see the remodeling she and her hubby had done and I discovered a massage table. Jenny and I met in 1997 when we worked at Allen's Camera in Orem, UT and were both in the Photography program at BYU. She was taking some massage classes at that time but life finally became too hectic to work on a bachelor's degree and a massage license at the same time. Jenny recently resumed her study in the fine art of I-can-make-people-melt-at-the-touch-of-a-finger, much to my GREAT pleasure.

After getting the kids settled into bed for the night, Amelia requested a massage before Jenny started on me. Of course, she was mostly just ticklish, but she did lay still for a quick hand massage.

I've decided that if you don't have a friend who's a massage therapist, you just aren't living right.

I'm smiling because I got a THREE HOUR massage while Jenny and I talked until 1:00am. Glorrrrrrrrious!

I talked to Dan on Friday morning and told him about my massage. He asked (and I could totally hear the smirk in his voice), "Did you have to put out afterwards?" I exclaimed, "No! That was the best part!"

Jenny recently got dreadlocks, which just upped her coolness yet another notch.

Jenny's boys, Brahm and Oliver, and Lily didn't fall asleep until 11:30pm the night before, so Jenny let them sleep in and go into school late (Lily doesn't have school on Fridays.) We had a leisurely breakfast and the kids built a fort in the living room with Mack's port-a-crib, a small mattress, chairs and lots of blankets.

I was worried that Mack would get scared in his crib being all covered up, but as you can see, it was a sheer delight for him to play with the big kids.

Oliver (6), Lily (7), Brahm (8) and Amelia (3). (BTW, all these pictures were taken with my new Blackberry camera phone.)

I found this picture of Lily and the boys from 2005 when we lived in Midvale, just a few minutes from Jenny. Lily saw this and said, "Aww, Brahm and Oliver look so cute!"

On Friday evening we had a dinner date with my long-time college friend Brandi and her house full of boys. I had a brain cramp and forgot to take pictures, so I stole this one off Brandi's facebook profile.

Brandi made waffles, homemade syrup and bacon for dinner, complete with ice cream, fruit and whipped cream. I'm drooling now, just thinking about it. Brandi and I had a great visit while her hubby Frantz watched Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs with all the kids. Amelia was totally on one the whole night and it was one of the few times where I was really embarrassed by my child's behavior. I guess I need to start whippin' some hiney around here!

On Saturday we lazed around in the morning and then went to see The Princess and the Frog with Lily's two best friends from my Mom's neighborhood, Liesel and Halle. I'd planned to take a picture of all the girls at the movies, but I spaced it. So here's some alternate photos:

Liesel, Amelia and Lily in July 2009 when Liesel and her mom Brooks (who is my idol and the famous Sewer of Woobies) stopped to visit us in Cokeville while they were at a family reunion in Bear Lake (just 45 minutes away.)

Halle and Lily at the Children's Museum in SLC in April 2009. We're gonna have to get that girl up to Cokeville this summer to ride a real horse!

Saturday night was family time. My brother Don and his family and my cousins Josh & Jenn and baby Bennett came to my Mom's for dinner (check out the recipe for chicken tortilla soup on my Mom's blog.) My SIL Lora and I talked books and she introduced me to a website called goodreads.com which is a place to list all the books you've read and find out what your friends are reading. I'm just getting started on it, so if you're a member, add me as a friend!

Here's my nephew Alexander, so pleased with himself for hacking into Grammie's computer:

Mack scored a big sucker on the drive back to Cokeville on Sunday. Anything to keep the children quiet in the car, right?

I came home feeling rejuvenated and revitalized from the good company, good conversation and good food.

3 comments:

eugie74 said...

Sheer delight! I love your writing style, Sueber, because it reflects how you talk to a tee! Thanks for shedding some of your sunshine on my household. What a happy reunion for the kids, too, eh? Cokeville Summer 2010, here we come!

The Queen Vee said...

A change of pace, a visit to a great place, good friends, good talks, fun pictures and now a rejuvenated Sue. What's not to like...!

Brian and Rebecca Nate said...

Sign me up for the massage!! It's been a few years since I've had one of those and I definitely miss it. I'm impressed by the pictures your camera phone takes. Very nice. Maybe I need a weekend away....