Desert Girls Week

You know the feeling you get at the end of a really fun vacation where you want to stop time, so you try to bottle each moment in attempt to remember them when you return home? That's what I felt for the last few days of my vacation in the desert last week. Honestly, I sort of hate that feeling, the awareness of time slipping by too swiftly makes me melancholy. Instead, I wish I could just enjoy each moment by being in the moment without the knowledge that it's all going to end very soon. Man, did it ever end too soon...

The girls and I drove back to my aunt's house in Scottsdale, AZ to meet my mom, sister in law, baby niece, and grandmother for a week long girls' reunion. It was so, so great.

There was nonstop swimming, shopping, and eating. We watched movies after we put the babies to bed. We never ran out of dessert. Or wine. We laughed, we talked, we took turns bathing suntanned little girls. We cooked. And we ate and ate and ate. I got to sleep until 9 o'clock every morning. It was so nice.

My girls loved having so many extra hands to hold, arms to hug them, and eyes and ears to give them some undivided attention. I loved having the help. It was a glorious task chopping onions without a baby on my hip and being able to drink my coffee in peace without having to reheat it a few times. I love my babies, but boy do I love having some help every now and then. 

My sister in law is one of my best friends. I talk to her almost everyday, but there is nothing like seeing her face in person and loving on her sweet baby for a week. We had a girls' night out that ended in uncontrollable giggles and cartwheels. Maybe we peed our pants a little... I need more Jenny in my life and I'm not ashamed to say it!

We were there Tuesday to Tuesday. Around Saturday I started to realize our time together was getting shorter and shorter. Jenny and I had plans to have another girls' night out, but neither of us really wanted to stray from the other girls on our trip. My aunt was the hostess with mostess, as usual. And my Nana soaked up precious time with her great granddaughters. Seeing my mom was the best. My girls love her. 

And just like that, it was over. I am trying to hold onto the savored memories and moments of our week, but like our awesome desert tans, they are quickly fading. Despite my inability to stop time, I wouldn't trade our visit for anything. Until the next time, girls!