Book Club Girls' weekend getaway

 Last weekend got to have one of my favorite times of the year, the annual Book Club Girls' Weekend Getaway! And since no nursing babies this season in the group, and ability, we were able to go for 2 nights!!! One of our former "members" (aka friends) had moved to Chicago several years past, and she had invited us to stay at her house for the weekend and go see Hamilton which was in town. I was the only non-theatre person in our group, but was up for a group outing, so that's what we did this year. A bit different from our usual going to the coast and enjoying beaches and small town shopping, but it was really fun. 

Before getting ready and going out to the show we did walk around the Morton Arboretum, it was beautiful and could've spent a lot longer there walking all around. 

Then we got ready, had an amazing dinner at Gio Mia in my friend's suburb, and then went down to the show. 

(that's a light reflecting purple on my friend's hair, but it looks pretty cool :))

So apparently Hamilton was started in 2016, and I'd heard of it before, but really had no desire to see it. I have to say it was pretty good. My friend and I had watched a bit before on Disney + to prepare and we didn't like it, but it was pretty good in person. (And I think our friends playing it in the car nonstop on the drive to Chicago helped a little, lol), The music is really good, and I am amazed the whole thing was written by one man. Wow, such talent!

The next morning after a nice breakfast we walked in Waterfall Glen and then began the trip home (listening to Hamilton most of the way home again, I have to admit a lot of those songs are pretty catchy!)

Such a great getaway, a time to talk and have fun together, so thankful we can do this every year. 

Anniversary getaway

 7 years of wedded bliss! (and a little real life thrown in there too)

Doug and I were able to go out for dinner on our real anniversary, and a couple weekends later my parents watched the kids for a night so we could go away overnight. We stayed at a little airbnb right on the St. Clair river. We did have to take Lucy as she's a breast-milk baby, but she's still pretty portable. We had a very nice dinner at The Marine City Fish Company. Here I am with my cajun filet medallions. 

Watching the freighters go by from our airbnb, and the next morning during our breakfast at the Rivera restaurant. 

It was cold! And a little drizzly. So we didn't do much outdoors, but they had a cute downtown area and Lucy slept the whole time while we went in stores, shopped, and went to a cafe. Then back to pick up our kiddos and dinner with my parents. It was a good weekend. 

Haha, there's no one else I'd rather have by my side 💓

FL Keys getaway

My parents took the kids and Doug and I flew down to the Keys for the weekend.

First stop at Tijuana Flats, oh how I wish we had one in Michigan! They have cookie dough flautas which are amazing. 

The view at our airbnb on Key Largo

First day in the Everglades

Hiking

Alligator

Soaking up the sun!

We went out for BBQ and had a nice relaxing evening.

Watched the sunrise, got breakfast and drove down into the Keys where we rented paddleboards

We saw so many sea creatures from our boards! Starfish, jellyfish, 4 sting rays, a nurse shark, conch. It was very cool. 

Then we went to John Pennekamp beach and Doug did some snorkeling while I did some beach reading.

We went out for a sunset dinner

And Doug whacked down a coconut from our airbnb's tree and enjoyed some fresh coconut water :)

We were up at 5am to drive back to Miami for our flight, and back safely to snowy home and our happy kiddos :)

weekend getaway

Last weekend we did a mini getaway to South Branch. We stayed in a old cabin that smelled musty, but it had 2 bedrooms and was on the beach. The guy running the cabins was so friendly and the night we arrived invited us on a pontoon ride. It was a relaxing nice weekend. Highlights included going out to dinner (finally not just take out!!), hiking at Iargo Springs, and Lumberjack Monument, eating out and icecream in Tawas, a wood-fired maple syrup place, and driving through Rifle River park. It was nice to have some time to getaway.