Weekend Retreat

I decided at the last minute to go on a scrappin' retreat this weekend. I have an awesome group of friends here who all love to scrap as much as I do, so we usually try to do this 2-3 times a year. We have been to several different places, but one of our favorites is Raspberry Ridge in Motley, MN. It's basically a newer, 3 level house that someone built specifically for this purpose. It houses 16 people and is completely set up for nonstop scrappin'! Initially I turned down this opportunity because I didn't think there would be any way that I could leave Drew with the munchkins for that long. It can get pretty crazy around here and my guilty conscience was not handling the idea of deserting everyone very well. As we got closer and closer to the event though, Drew was encouraging me to go and I knew I needed the break. I continued to say no, but finally gave in and committed myself to the fun. I did shorten the trip a bit because I couldn't take any time off from work, we had some daycare days to fill in and I didn't want to push my luck. So, rather than a 4 day trip, I made it a 2 day trip and it worked out great! Drew did awesome with the kids so I didn't spend my time away worrying (at least not TOO much!) and he even got to have a little time to himself this evening to go ice fishing. I had such a good time and although I missed my family, I wish I had more time to catch up on my albums. I'm a pretty boring person in general, so my ONLY hobby is scrappin'. If I have any free time in life, ideally I would prefer to be doing that than almost anything else!

Lili was so excited to see me when I walked through the door today. I know she had lots of fun with Daddy, but I have to admit that hearing her yell "Mama! Mama!" is one of the best things about being a parent! That adorable little voice gets me every time! Unfortunately, after the initial excitement wore off, I realized that Lili just wasn't herself. She and Will have both had colds, which have evolved into coughs, but so far had not turned into anything serious. She was extremely clingy and pretty much just wanted to sit next to Drew or I on the couch with her blankie and her binky. Her nose was still running and she felt a little warm at one point, but overall there were no alarming symptoms to whatever is going on in her little body. We did see that the 2 teeth she's been working on are almost through now, so we are hoping that that is the reason for her strange behavior. The sad thing is, whenever she is like this, Drew and I secretly enjoy the snuggle time. She has never been a cuddler, so we often find ourselves "forcing" her to hug us...haha... Having her WILLINGLY wanting to be in our arms is kind of nice!

Here are a few pics from this afternoon. Will is getting so big and you can definitely see that Lili is not feeling the best. At one point she completely passed out on Drew, which is not normal for her! Poor kid. Hopefully she will be back to her old self in the morning!