You know how you just love it when you find yourself with a weekend full of quiet and nothing planned?
Yeah, we don’t either.
Y’all, we seriously packed like a month’s worth of activities into the last 48 hours, or in the case of one of our very favorite blogger Tidbits From the Queen of Chaos, we had what she would consider a Tuesday. AnnMarie, are you listening? Because, we both said all weekend long that we realized what we were doing would barely have you breaking a sweat, and we pretty much found ourselves bowing down in your honor (as well as collapsing in a heap).
Starting at the crack of dawn Saturday morning until the baths were finally drawn Sunday night, we went full force with FUN.FAMILY.ACTIVITIES. Are you listening kids, because this would be the sounds of your parents’ wallets being emptied and their tired, aching bodies falling into bed. Nobody had better whine anytime soon about how “we never get to do ANYTHING fun”.
Our weekend was kicked off Saturday morning at 5:30 a.m. No, that wasn’t a typo. When we said we started at the crack of dawn we weren’t kidding. Lucy was entered in her first 5K with Girls On the Run! It was completely exciting. Her dad and big brother Bobby were her running buddies (It was their first 5K, too!). Even though there were thousands of participants, sadly there just wasn’t any room for Lisa to run with them. (Hey, SOMEONE has to take pictures and hold the jackets you know!).
Good friends will wish you luck before you run. BEST friends will set their alarm clocks and drive for an hour in the cold, dark morning just to cheer you on. Well, Ashley, Emma, and Abby made that long trek to support Lucy as only true BFFs would! All of us cheered loudly and issued celebratory hand slaps when Robert, Bobby, and Lucy crossed the finish line. The sense of pride and accomplishment was electric, and Lucy’s smile at the end shined as brightly as her medal!
You’d think all that early morning air and exercise would be enough for one day…but no! When we jam pack a weekend with events, we go all the way.
Right after the 5K, everyone raced back home for a quick shower because Emma and Abby had a big event of their own: their Winter Dance Recital! This was no small affair. It was held at a swanky uptown theater! Lucy thought that Emma should audition immediately for So You Think You Can Dance because her jazz was just that fantastic. Lisa declared Abby the most graceful ballet dancer of the entire day. They both really burned up the floor!
Emma and Abby were thrilled to spot their BFFs in the audience, because if dancing for your mom and dad is fun, dancing for your favorite friends is even better!
As the afternoon wound to a close, we parted from our friends and spent the rest of the day carting kids around to various birthday parties (in Lisa’s case) and buying the family Christmas tree (in Ashley’s case). Sorry, no photo evidence of any of those activities, but just assume they were mostly exhausting totally fun!
Sunday, we were all up bright and early again (and dressed up this time, no less) for brunch with Santa. Now, we attempted something like this last year, but it was a not a huge success. Between the fact that the restaurant attempted to seat our party of eight at a table clearly meant for six and the “Santa” being a kid in his early twenties who wore a suit that practically hung off of his bony build, we were less than impressed. We had high hopes for this year, though, because we picked a totally different venue and booked months in advance.
Thankfully, our pre-planning did not disappoint, and we all had a fantastic time! Santa was totally jolly and lifelike except for the escaped convict placement of his beard directly under his eyes. Thankfully, only Bobby seemed to notice this. The kids not only got to talk to Santa, they were even greeted by Mrs. Claus.
But that wasn’t all. They had carol singers, a man who read The Night Before Christmas aloud, and even an elf who danced the most incredible hip hop solo witnessed by a brunch crowd. Oh…and the food was delicious. We each got a plate of breakfast food, wolfed it down, then hit the carving station line for some hearty lunch fare. (When The Dose of Reality crew hits a buffet, we take no prisoners.) We finished it all off with adorable desserts!
It is honestly going to take a few days to recover from this level of constant activity. We really need a weekend to recover from our weekend. Since that’s not happening, we’ll just be the right over here in the corner mainlining caffeine and wishing for a nap.
