My week with the girls

Saturday, Feb. 28 my girlfriends Sierra and Elizabeth flew in to for a visit. Sierra's brother in law lives in CO and her niece's 5th birthday party was scheduled for March 7, so Sierra thought what better time to come see the Tomlinsons and invited Elizabeth to join her. I'm soooo thrilled they came out. Sierra was out last July and Elizabeth was out in Sept for Inara's 1st birthday. It was perfect timing having them come into town because I've been homesick and knew this week would be tough since it was going to be my one year anniversary of moving away.

We pretty much just hung out at the house Saturday night and did lots of talking. Sierra is expecting her first baby and we all couldn't be happier. She and her hubby Mike have been trying for quite a few years, so this baby is a total blessing. I hope Elizabeth wasn't bored cuz us girls did a lot of baby talking. Plus, it was good for Sierra to see Inara and how tiring she is; a total joy but an exhausting one too.

Sunday we took a trip to Lakewood to shop at one of the outlet malls around here. We had a blast and I introduced Sierra to Motherhood Maternity, an expectant mom's dream store for maternity clothes since they aren't outrageously priced. That night we went to Kristi and Thane's new house for dinner since Monday was Thane's birthday. The girls got to see the new house and, more importantly, meet the newest Tomlinson, baby Jack. It was so cute when Elizabeth told me she and Sierra were sad because Jack is the first Tomlinson baby they didn't get to be there for the birth. They were in the hallway waiting outside the door with me when Avery was born, and they were there for the long haul when Inara was born. Poor little Jack.

Monday was a lazy day. The girls got to play with Inara all day long and Inara loved every minute of it. From the moment they got here, Inara was warm and affectionate and gave lots of hugs. I was so happy to see this. I was a bit worried she may be shy around them, but she was thrilled to break them in quick.

Tuesday Barb offered to watch Inara so us girls could have a day without baby in tow. We decided to go to Downtown Denver and walked around the 16th Street Mall. We had lunch at Paramount Cafe and hung out at Hard Rock Cafe chatting for about an hour with the manager of the store. He was super nice and told us all about the Hard Rock pins he designs and the charity t-shirts they are selling right now. And we discussed our favorite concerts. He told me I MUST see a show at Red Rocks. I'm so going this summer!

Wednesday the girls, Inara and I met up with Kristi and her two and Eetung and William at the Wildlife Experience in Parker. Inara and I haven't been there yet, so I thought this might be a fun outing and not too far from the houses if the kids got feisty. The kids loved this one room where you can simulate an avalanche. Then we played in the toddler room where the kids put on costumes, put on a puppet show for us, and colored for quite awhile.

Inara and I took Elizabeth with us Thursday to our usual My Gym class while Sierra packed her bags since her hubby was coming to get her that afternoon. Elizabeth had a good time watching Inara run around like a crazy woman, but she was rather pooped by the time we got home. Ahhh...now the girls understand why I'm exhausted every day and fall asleep on the couch at 8pm every night. Mike got to see our new house and was impressed with the man lounge that Shawn has started putting together in the basement. He's got his new TV finally and now goes down there to play XBox and other video game systems. Yes, he hooked up old systems like N64 and Playstation. I can still hear the noise upstairs, but definitely not as loud as before.

Friday was Inara's 1st tumbling class for the new session. There was a subtitute teacher for that class whom I was less than impressed with. I'll see how class goes this week before I decide if we're going to drop the class. That afternoon Elizabeth was pooped and needed a nap. I so know why. Unfortunately, I had Inara to watch, so no nap for me.

Saturday Elizabeth, Inara and I drove up to Ft. Collins for Sierra's niece's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. It was a 90 min drive, which I was worried about since Inara's not one to sit in the car for very long. The ride out there wasn't too bad. We had fun at the party since Inara LOVES riding the rides at CCE. However, she got scared when the costumed Chuck E. Cheese came up to say hi to her. And this is why I am in no hurry to take Inara to Disneyland. I'm guessing I'll be up for taking her when she's closer to 3 or 4. The drive home was not as pleasant since Inara didn't eat much at lunch and we ended up pulling off the road to feed her. She refused the food I tried to give her, so we got back on the road and listened to her cry for a bit. She finally ate some of the crackers/snacks I brought with me. She didn't nap at all on the way home. I had high hopes of a quiet ride home. Oh well.

Sunday I took Elizabeth to the airport where she met up with Sierra and the rest of her family. I was really sad to see them go. This week was awesome having my BFFs here. I got spoiled having someone to talk to all day long besides a 17 month old. Plus, at dinnertime, the girls kept Inara busy so I could cook without a child wrapped around my legs screaming to be picked up. Now that was a wonderful break! Since Sierra is pregnant, I've already talked to Shawn about going out to CA for 2 weeks this summer. I can't miss the baby shower. Our trip to Oregon may be pushed back to next year now. Just depends what we can afford. But I absolutely have to be there to celebrate Sierra's little one. And now we will be able to schedule trips to see a lot of other friends as well. Hey Saiki family, will you guys be up for introducing Kate and Inara this July or August? We can't wait to see our CA friends and family this summer. Thank you to Elizabeth and Sierra for coming out to see us. I miss you girls already!!!