Mama's birthday is in June and, I can't remember exactly how this happened, but Missy, Laurie, and I decided to surprise her with a girls' trip. I made up an elaborate lie about needing Mama to babysit the kids (which ended up not being a lie when our babysitter needed to leave town, serves me right), so that we could get Mama to block off enough free time to make the trip. I did give her a heads-up about a week in advance that we would be taking a trip, that it involved a plane, and that she needed to pack in a carry-on (tight connections, not 'cause I'm a cheapskate! although I am about baggage fees).
I have a difficult time keeping secrets, but managed to not let on where we were going until Mama saw for herself during our connection in Atlanta. We flew to DC, where we met up with Missy and checked into an extra apartment (that doubles as a hotel room) in Missy's complex. That all went smoothly, but the best part was when we were in the elevator going to Missy's apartment, and Mama said that this was all wonderful, but she knew Laurie would be sad not to be there.
Well....Laurie almost wasn't going to be there, but she was able to fly to DC for a few nights on her way to a work trip in New York, so she was hiding in Missy's apartment. So we all walked in, and Miss Piece-de-Resistance jumps out of Missy's room and yells, "Surprise!" and well, it was fantastic:
Hanging out in Missy's cute apartment:
Alexandria waterfront:
We took a water taxi to dinner at National Harbor. There was a whole store devoted to Peeps! Will was jealous when he saw this picture:
Anna did well most of the evening, but started getting sleepy during dinner. We ended up missing the water taxi and had to wait for the latest one, which I think was around 11:30. When Anna gets overly sleepy, she gets super-silly, so everybody was treated to the crazy-eyes of over-stimulated Anna:
When we finally got back to the room, she flung everything off the bed, climbed under the sheets fully-clothed, and said, "I tuck myself in, Mama. I tuck myself in," probably wondering what kind of silly people keep a four-year-old up past midnight!
The next morning, Missy and I went for a run. I am seriously envious of people who get to run in the DC area on a daily basis--so beautiful!
Then we got cleaned up for lunch, and took a group picture, of course:
Missy shuttled us to the restaurant in her cute new car:
Then we went to Old Town Alexandria for cupcakes and gelato and yarn-shopping:
And ran back to Missy's apartment--we tried to beat the rain and lost:
Time for birthday hats and cupcakes!
Laurie had to leave the next day, but Mama, Anna, and I did some DC touristy stuff, and Missy met us later after finishing up some work.
Waiting for the "monorail":
At the US Botanical Gardens:
Lunch at the National Museum of the American Indian:
Anna in Paris? One day, but this pretend Metro stop will suffice for now:
We stopped by the National Museum of Natural History to check on the Hope Diamond for Will. It's still not marked for sale, and still under high security, so I think it's staying put for now:
Me and my sweet girl:
The next morning we had a yummy lunch at Buzz Bakery with Missy, and then flew home:
So much fun! Now to decide where we should do this next year...
2 comments:
Oh, thanks for posting. I think about that trip ALL the time. Anna was such a trooper and so much fun.
This is great! What great memories!!
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