1) It takes time.
2) The videos won't show up on the book.
But I'm sad that I can't the one I really want for this post. But, the show must go on. If I get it later, I will include it.
So...Ivory had a birthday last month. Her really good friend Ember had a birthday just 9 days after her. Ember's mom, Amy, called me up and asked if I wanted to do a surprise for the two of them. We would plan a little getaway and then take them out of school. The plan was that they wouldn't know at all beforehand.
Well...it mostly worked. One child (who will remain nameless) gave away some info that she shouldn't and Ivory was alerted that something was afoot. On her actual birthday, I didn't give her a gift. I told her it was still being shipped and probably wouldn't arrive until March. Normally Ivory would not be suspicious (many of her gifts have come late) but this time she wasn't so sure about the whole thing. Every once in a while she would tell me that she didn't think a gift was coming at all, and that I was going to take her somewhere, like a picnic.
Phooey. I thought about calling the whole thing off, but we had already reserved a hotel.
Fine, it would still be a surprise where they were going and when. And to confuse her even more, I actually put together a package and left it on the doorstep. That confused her a little bit. She went to school and told Ember that there was a package after all. (Bwah ha ha.) I told Ivory that she had a dentist appointment and that I would be picking her up from school a little early. It just so happens that Ember was being checked out at the same time. (Not a coincidence.) And I brought the package so Ivory could open it, since she had had to rush out the door in the morning. We recorded her opening the package and I'm sorry I don't have it to show you.
It was very cute. She opened it up and there was a note on top and this is what it said:
READ ALOUD
This isn’t your typical gift.
But there is still a present involved.
Look over at your friend Ember.
Go give her a hug.
Wouldn’t you like to spend some more time with her today?
Maybe you would like to skip the dentist?
Okay...I have a good idea.
Let’s escape. All together.
You, me, Ember, and her mom.
In fact, we are going to kidnap you two from all your responsibilities and take you away to snuggle you and spend time with you.
We love you girls so much. We are proud of all the stuff you do.
You deserve a break.
And happy birthday...both of you! This is our gift to you.
Now let’s go get in the car and have an adventure.
The girls were very excited. They didn't know where they were going although Ivory was so funny when she said, "It must be somewhere sunny. My mom shaved her legs and she never shaves her legs." (True story. Who shaves their legs in the winter?)
We were headed to Park City. The girls snuggled up in the back and turned on Little Princess. I haven't seen it for a while but they looked so serious watching it.
Once we arrived and the girls knew their options, they chose pedicures right away. We found a place that seemed nice, although the guy kind of ripped us off. But sometimes you just go and have fun and apologize to your husband later. Ivory got the royal treatment. Massage, soaking feet, gel color. They probably didn't even have to scrape any rough skin off her feet. That is reserved for us old ladies.
Ivory, Ember, and I opted for toes.
Amy got her nails done. She chose the same color as me and after looking at her beautiful nails, I wish I had done my hands too. So glittery. I am kind of a sucker for sparkles.
Check out these cute toes. And with gel nails, they dry instantly and we were ready to roll.
Up next was shopping. Ivory has never really done a shopping trip before. All her clothes are handed down or I buy them without consulting her. But she needed some pants and Ember needed shoes, so we shopped at the outlets. Right away we found some pants for her and I picked up some for Pearl's birthday as well. (Bonus.) The toy shop was really fun. We found these weird animals called Tiny headed Kingdom. I think they are some of the freakiest things I've seen. So naturally I took a picture of Ember cuddling one. Its head is so small.
Since we found pants, it was time to get shoes for Ember. She is particular about what kind she wants. I love that she knows what she wants and she isn't going to settle for less. She tried on a lot of shoes. Ivory took a siesta. She wasn't really tired, but those empty shelves seemed to need some kind of decoration.
After a lot of shopping, we were all hungry. We tried to talk the girls into trying some exotic local cuisine, but sadly, Ivory is not a big eater, so we settled for Cafe Rio. At least it is familiar and super tasty.
After dinner we went back to our hotel. The hot tub was calling our name. It was perfect. The girls loved it.
They also played in the pool, but we moms stayed in the heat. We had the place pretty much to ourselves. There was a couple German ladies who stopped in briefly. They confirmed that Utah has amazing snow for skiing and snowboarding and they were kind enough to take a picture for us.
We played a game called Bubble where you start a story and whoever you are pointing at has to continue the story. You can switch who you are pointing at mid sentence. It makes for funny stories.
Back in our room, we did face masks. We looked amazing, what can I say? Ivory and I did an orange one, Ember had a white wash off, and Amy did a clear peel. We are rocking face purification.
We spent the entire evening playing games. It was so fun, despite the fact that stinking Ivory won almost all of them. I guess she takes after her mother. Amy and I snuck in a win here and there, although poor Ember...I don't think she won anything. She was the best sport though. We played Love Letter, Cover Your Assets, Wise and Otherwise (I barely beat Ivory right at the end) and King Domino. That was a new one to us and it was really fun.
Time went by quickly. Finally it was bedtime. I slept very well. Ivory didn't even kick me at all. The thermostat was really weird though. There was no steady temperature. It was either really hot or cold. We would try to stabilize it but it seemed to just go back and forth.
Breakfast was yummy the next day, but I thought it was funny that with a full hot breakfast, Ivory still chose cold cereal. I may have trained her too well. We went to check out the World Market before we left. I had never been there before and there were so many fun things to see. The girls picked out cute stuffed animals. Ivory and I split the cost of hers and we bought one for Ember for her birthday. At checkout we saw a baby Nutella. Ivory loves Nutella so it was super fun to find a size that would be just right for her smallness.
Before leaving we stopped and checked out Main Street. We didn't have a lot of time so we toured a couple art shops, but we were done with our spending for the trip. Ember got a caramel apple at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Those are her favorite. And of course we took a couple pictures. It was such a beautiful morning.
We stopped at Granny's Drive In for lunch on our way home. It has been years and years since I have been to Granny's. The food was okay. They forgot Amy's avocado. :( Ivory seemed to like her food. Remember...this girl loves burgers.
Finally it was back to reality. It was such a fun getaway. I'm tempted to do it again sometime. Ivory and Ember are a delight and it was a blast to celebrate their birthdays with them. Check out these cuties with their animals 'Charity' and 'Biscuit.'
p.s. I should mention that Amy was so awesome. We haven't had a lot of time to spend together. I usually see her at school functions or when she drops Ivory off at the house. It was so fun to get to know her better. She is a great person to travel with and shop with. I feel like she is a kindred spirit.
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