Sisters’ Weekend, 2009
My sisters and I have decided to have a weekend, just one, once a year with no kids, pets or husbands around to bother, eavesdrop or otherwise distract. So, this was our maidenship voyage, if you will!
Ironically, the weekend was decided before any of us consulted a calendar, and it ended up being Mother’s Day weekend. (I don’t have time to go into how much grief I took from Jorge, about not spending Mother’s Day WITH my mother!!)
This year, since we didn’t have a LOT of advance planning/saving time, we stayed at DeNeece’s house, while she sent her husband, kids and dogs on a camping trip, to happen immediately after school Friday. So that’s how the arrangements were made for “Hotel Tippie” for the weekend. We made a menu and planned to eat most of our meals at DeNeece’s house.
Anyway, DeAwna flew to Ontario, CA from Denver, and Karalee and I drove to Riverside, CA from Mesa. DeAwna arrived at a decent hour of 6 pm or so, whereas Karalee and I arrived at 2:00 am. Don’t think for a minute that the late hour of our arrival deterred us from talking, laughing and {even} snoozing for a while before the official bedtime came around. {I think that bedtime may have been around 3:30 am, but I can’t be sure, as I was already sawing logs by then!}
Friday morning we slept til 8:30 or so – that IS sleeping in for all of us, on a weekday morning! DeAwna made us breakfast of fruit, yogurt and granola . . . . YUM!! Then we had to decide what exactly we were going to do – the options were limitless!
We had talked, originally, about having a spa day, but then decided that our money would be better spent shopping! We talked about the Orange County Market, (a huge swap meet style market, at the Orange County Fairgrounds) but found out that they aren’t open on Fridays.
What’s the next best thing??? Clothes, of course!! So, we headed to Ross – I ♥ ♥ ♥ that store! Nice looking, good quality clothes for less money.
2 hours later we walked out of there, heavy laden with our purchases.
We headed back to DeNeece’s house for lunch – she had made some YUMMY pork roast for burritos! After relaxing for a little bit, we headed out to the movie theater.
We had gone back and forth about what we wanted to see, but settled on “The Soloist”. It is a good movie, but not the “happily ever after” ending that one may hope for – but, it IS based on a true story, so real life isn’t {very often} about “happily ever after!!!
DeNeece’s softball team had a game, so that was what we had planned for the evening. She couldn’t miss the game, because too many people (including her husband, the camper) were going to be gone that night.
DeAwna, Karalee and I had fun, sitting in the bleachers,
cat-
calling the players and just people watching in general.
After the game, we went for a little more shopping, at Old Navy and Target, before we headed home with our fast-food supper and plans to watch a movie and just chill! DeNeece had prepped us for “Seven Pounds”, with Will Smith, but when movie time came around, it was nowhere to be found! So, we settled for “Hitch” {another Will Smith treat} instead! LOVE THAT MOVIE! My favorite part is the allergic reaction and the Benadryl cocktail!
Saturday morning, we were headed to the beach - Oceanside, near San Diego, to be precise. But, not before we made another stop at Ross . . . and lots of drama there!
They are remodeling and adding on to the strip mall, where Ross is located. So, they have cut a BIG chunk out of the parking lot – frustration #1. Then, the customer service situation, much to our chagrin, was LACKING, to say the least, inside the store!! One employee (I believe she was the manager – YIKES!!) even said “If people don’t pay attention {to how the lines go}that’s not my problem!” You’re right, ma’am – if none of these people are YOUR problem, then they can just shop somewhere else, and when you lose your job, because the store has to close – not THEIR problem!!
Then, after that pleasant experience, we get out to the parking lot, and some moron has parked in the part of the parking lot that has been remarked for driving through – HELLO!! We couldn’t resist leaving a not-so-nice note, so that they were sure to recognize their moronishness!! (not sure that’s a word, but hey, it’s my blog and I’ll make up words if I want too!)
By the time we were near the beach, we were hungry! So we stopped for a little Mexican food. And, the weather was . . . . I’ll say “cool”. To us Arizonans, it was COLD, but to the girl who lives in Colorado, it was nice.
It was funny to see people, on the beach, in their beach chairs, covering up with their towels! We tried to lay out for a little bit, but then the wind picked up. We did use plenty of sunblock, because those rays penetrate clouds, no matter the temperature, so we weren’t taking any chances. Actually, I think I was the only one using sunblock . . . .the other girls were using tanning oil!
Not many people were in the water, and I can tell you . . . BRRRRRR!!! I walked down to try it out, and just to get my feet wet.
Our brother, Bart, and his friend, Carolyn, and her daughter drove from Temecula, to meet us. We sat around talking for a little while, but their hunger pains got the best of them, so they left to go get lunch. But, not before we made plans to meet at DeNeece’s house for dinner.
I made stir fry for dinner – YUM! Lots of yummy vegetables and chicken . . . my sisters helped with the food prep, thank goodness! That’s a LOT of choppin’, y’all!!
After dinner we were just hangin’ out and talking and watching “What Happens in Vegas” – THAT is a funny movie!
Ashton Kucther is so cute – he is soooooooooo much an overgrown child! Or at least so he seems in the parts that he plays . . . . and plays well, I might add! Cute movie, though there is some “adult” humor that used to be rated “R”!
It was another late night – but we were all okay with that. Church wasn’t til 12:30 (right, Deece???), so we did get to sleep in a little! What woke us? The yapping of the family dogs and the children returning from their camping trip. But it was fun to watch them hug their mommy and wish her “Happy Mother’s Day” and give her their gifts.
I spent most of the morning working on our First Annual Sisters’ Weekend CD – we had previously made lists, each one of us, of some of the songs that we remember from our growing up years. We compared lists, put the ones that we ALL had listed and then a few others, on the CD.
I purchased an itunes card for the songs that I didn’t own, and brought my ENTIRE CD collection to get the rest of them. Surprisingly enough, it didn’t take that long . . . burning the 4 copies took almost as long as compiling the songs. Now we can always have those songs with us!
The compilation is kinda crazy – everything from the “Fame” theme song, to “Thriller” by Michael Jackson. Then there’s the favorite of ALL of us – “Rhinestone Cowboy”, by Glenn Campbell. Actually, DeAwna didn’t have it on her list, but the rest of us did. When we talked about it later, we were listening to it, when DeAwna was still in the womb, and by the time we were done listening to it, she was still a toddler. So, the nostalgia of that ONE song was lost on her, but the rest of us L♥VE it – mostly for nostalgic value.
A couple of weeks after our sisters’ weekend, Bart came to AZ for the weekend. Karalee had that CD in her car’s CD player, and he and I were driving in her car. As we were driving he commented, “This CD makes NO sense! Who would put all these songs together?” When I explained where it came from, he just sort of rolled his eyes and said, “OH – I get it!”
Anyway, to finish out our Sunday – we went to church – Sacrament Meeting only, and then headed back to Deece’s house for taco salad for lunch. Deece’s family was supposed to be at her mother-in-law’s by 3:00 pm, so they were out the door and gone, while we were packing up the car.
DeAwna’s flight was scheduled for 7 pm, so Karalee and I were dropping her at the airport. But, not BEFORE we had another stop at our favorite Ross store! DeAwna and I both had some things to return, so we did that, had some Baskin-Robbins ice cream, and then headed out to the airport!
It was a fun (but tiring!) weekend! But, Karalee drove all the way home, so I got to be the pampered passenger. And, it only took us 5 ½ hours to get home . . . . WITH a 45 minute stop at the Burger King in Quartzite! Go speedy Karalee!
We’re gonna have an annual sisters’ weekend . . . but we’re gonna wait a few months before we start talking about next years’ plans!
WE HAD SOME OTHER PHOTOS, BUT SOMEHOW, BETWEEN A CAMERA BEING LEFT IN CA THEN BEING MAILED TO CO AND DOWNLOADING AND TIME . . . . ANYWAY, NO BEACH PHOTOS!! DANG IT!!
any people may not remember how truly pioneering Michael Jackson was, as a musician, and performer. And, as one of the DJs on the radio said this morning, " . . . anybody under 25 may not even know that he was ever anything but . . . well, wierd!" Having said that, I choose to remember the MANY MANY MANY hours that I spent listening to "Thriller" (the entire album); it was the first cassette that I ever bought with my OWN money, and I don't remember if I had to buy a second copy, because of how many times I listened to it.
any people may not remember how truly pioneering Michael Jackson was, as a musician, and performer. And, as one of the DJs on the radio said this morning, " . . . anybody under 25 may not even know that he was ever anything but . . . well, wierd!" Having said that, I choose to remember the MANY MANY MANY hours that I spent listening to "Thriller" (the entire album); it was the first cassette that I ever bought with my OWN money, and I don't remember if I had to buy a second copy, because of how many times I listened to it.
