March 2021
2021,  Brayden,  Charlotte,  Family,  Hanleigh,  March,  Vacation

Scottsdale, Skiing, & Spurlins!

I feel like March brought a bit more glimpse of hope in terms of the pandemic. By that I mean, it just seems like things are starting to open up a bit more, restrictions are getting looser without going back to being more strict on a consistent basis, and people’s attitudes in general have even started to be more uplifted. I was able to spend five quality days with three other amazing women that I’m lucky enough to call colleagues in early March in Scottsdale, Arizona. We had been planning a girls trip for quite a few months and slowly saw the number people interested decline due to various reasons. But, in the end, there were four of us remaining who were totally committed to going. While I had taken personal trips with my friend, Laura, who I met from work, this is the first time I had ever taken a personal trip with multiple women that I currently worked with. It was absolutely cathartic, therapeutic, and so incredibly needed…at exactly the right time. We stayed in an adorable VRBO that had its own pool and hot tub and plenty of space for us to exercise, eat, and hang out. We went shopping, ate at delicious restaurants, and the entire trip culminated with a the huge highlight, which was hiking 6 miles on the Peralta trail in the Superstition Mountains. This was about 45 minutes outside of Scottsdale and worth every minute of the drive. When we got to the top, there was an amazing view of Weaver’s Needle and the Lone Pine off in the distance. We hiked over to the pine and attempted to find our same trail back. I think we were diverted a little bit and a part of me thought we may be lost, but we made it back to the trail eventually. We had so many honest and raw conversations with each other, and did a lot of soul-searching as well. The laughter was never-ending as well!We all decided we travel very well together and should do this again! I can’t wait!

In other news, Hanleigh had a consultation to prepare for getting braces. She will have to have two teeth extracted in order to make room for the permanent teeth to come in. I cashed in my gift card for a facial and dinner with Mom one evening. Her friend, Wendy, does such an amazing job and my skin was glowing afterward. Mom and I went to OGGI for dinner and it was incredible, as always. Kendall and I had dinner one night together, and Brayden spent a weekend in the mountains with her good friend, Maisie, and two other friends. They went skiing and had an awesome time! The next weekend, we had a total of six lovely ladies spending the night. Each of the girls had two friends (Ash + Maddy, Hunter + Mila) over and they had a blast!

Brayden registered for her high school classes! I still can’t get over the fact that she starts 9th grade in the fall! She will be taking Spanish 2, AP Psychology, Honors Biology, Honors Math 3, Social Studies, Honors English, PE, and Sports and Entertainment Marketing. In kitchen renovation news, we made our final backsplash selection! All of the materials have been chosen, thank goodness! Brayden continued her field hockey practice and both girls continued their gymnastics classes.

We had a fabulous mini-Spurlin family reunion due to the fact that Adam came in town for a work trip. This was the impetus to bring 14 of us together for dinner at our house. It was so great seeing all the little cousins play together on the swing set and have countless laughs with everyone around the kitchen island. This is what memories are made of. We can’t wait to see the expanded family in Louisville this summer! Maisie spent the night one evening and we had a fabulous visit with both Mimi and Dadaw. It was really great seeing him in his room and talking about his daily activities and what all he is up to. The girls were with us and they really enjoyed seeing him, too. Alzheimer’s is very debilitating, but we really just continue to capitalize on all the good memories that he does have still. I was awesome seeing Mimi as well!

Brayden attended a princess-themed birthday party at Annie’s house, and Hanleigh attended a glamor-themed birthday party at Kam’s house. Trent and I had a couples’ date night with the Whitcombs and Farrells, which was absolutely incredible! We checked out a new restaurant in downtown Pineville called Margeaux’s and then were trying to figure out where we would go next, knowing that the options were limited. We ended up at a place called Grape and Agave, which I had low expectations of considering we had been there once before and it was pretty low-key. That night, the universe had other plans in mind for us. And they were good ones! There was a DJ and Heather, Tonya, and I danced our faces off for a couple hours. This was the first time I had been out dancing since right before the pandemic hit. I was like a kid in a candy shop and my smile couldn’t have been any bigger. Finally, things are starting to seem more normal. Now, bring on the live music!!! We wrapped the month up by having lunch the next day with Terry and Fran. It was great seeing them, albeit we were still recuperating from the evening before!

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