Our Staycation

The weekend before Makayla's arrival, we had a family staycation. Last year when I helped decorate for my friend's daughters wedding, her husband gave our family a free night stay at the downtown Marriott where he is the general manager. Well, not only did we get a free night stay, he also TOTALLY spoiled us with the presidential suite. It was AMAZING!!!! The girls had their own room that was connected to the living area with a dining room table, kitchen area, sitting room, and a huge bathroom with a jacuzzi that could fit our entire family. Then Cory and I had our own huge room, king size bed and all. The cost of staying one night in the suite would be $1300!!! Obviously, this was a once in a life-time experience. :)

We left for downtown after the girls' swim meet on Saturday. The girls had no idea where we were going. The only thing that they knew was that I had packed each of us a suitcase and that we would be spending the night somewhere. They were so excited!! We arrived at the hotel around 3:30 and the manager on duty walked us up to the 13th floor where we had to have our "special card" to even get up to that floor. Once she opened the door to the suite, the girls jaws dropped to the floor. They were totally surprised and super excited. There were huge windows in each of the rooms that had the most incredible views of downtown and the Appalachian Mountains. It was incredible. We told the girls that the rest of the day we would spend doing whatever they wanted to do. We gave them a list of options and in the end they decided they wanted to play at the pool for a little bit then get dressed and walk to a favorite restaurant close by. Then take the electronic transit and go see a show at the imax theater. (we saw Born to Be Wild...it was SO GOOD!!!!). After we got back to the hotel after the show, we spent the rest of the night living in luxury. Joe, my friend's husband, even had a huge tray of fruits, candy bars, cookies, drinks, chips, etc sent up to our room. The girls took a bath in the jacuzzi and then spent the rest of the night watching tv in their king size bed while eating all sorts of junk until about 11 pm when they finally fell asleep. Hailey walked from room to room as excited as could be, ate a cookie and then fell right asleep in her pack and play. Although Cory and I enjoyed every moment together, I think our favorite part of the night was just watching the girls have so much fun. Closing my eyes for the night was very bitter sweet. I was exhausted and ready to go to sleep but I also knew that by closing my eyes that meant it would be over in the morning.

We woke up and enjoyed our free gourmet breakfast, got ready for church, and then made it just in time for our first meeting. All I could do was laugh when the girls' primary president told me that Katelund had laid out across all the chairs in her row during sharing time. Oops. Well, they may not have gotten a whole lot out of primary that week, but we will always remember the night we lived like royalty.