(aka why I didn’t post on Monday)
Sonia and Zoe have a friend (named Zoe, actually! And they both have middle names that start with G.) who moved here 3.5 years ago.
(almost 3 years ago, when they were all much smaller!)
Sadly, she’s moving to the Midwest in just a few weeks. And that’s doubly sad because her mom is one of my best friends too.
Sigh.
The girls have had lots of sleepovers together, but I thought it would be fun to do a slightly more special sleepover before she moved away.
We started out by seeing an afternoon showing of Wonder at the second-run theater.
(I thought it was quite faithful to the book, which is saying something because I often am irritated by movie versions of books!)
Then I stopped to get the girls milkshakes, even though we’d had no dinner, and even though they each had a box of candy at the movie theater.
It was a sugary day. 😉
Then we stopped in at Aldi, where we bought a rather obscene amount of snacky foods.
And instead of heading home, we went to a local hotel for the night.
I’m super lucky because my brother works for a huge hotel chain, and his associate discount can score us some awesome prices on hotel rooms.
So, I was able to get a room at a nice hotel with two queen beds and a trundle bed for $39.
This hotel also came with an indoor pool, which was very important. Because in January, swimming is a lovely treat!
Kind of like eating watermelon in the wintertime.
After we swam, we went up to our room…
…where we ate snacks (instead of dinner!) and watched a Harry Potter movie.
In the morning, we enjoyed the free hotel breakfast and another swim before we checked out.
It wasn’t anything really fancy or adventurous, but it was just enough out of the ordinary to be lots of fun.
I don’t know why I haven’t thought of this local hotel night sleepover thing before, but I’m pretty sure we’ll do it again when a special sleepover is just what the doctor ordered.
I’m not sure if there’s anything helpful here for you guys (Get your brother hired at a hotel? Eating more sugar than usual is really fun?), but I just wanted to share. 😉
sabrina
Friday 19th of January 2018
We live in the Gulf Coast and have friends with access to a great condo on the beach with an indoor pool. For their son's January birthday, this is what they do. They stay overnoght, order pizza and swim at that gorgeous pool. The boys have a blast. And she doesn't have to clean it up the next day!
Karen.
Thursday 18th of January 2018
Experiences over things. High five.
Deidre
Thursday 18th of January 2018
When I was in primary school a really close friend - we were always at each other's houses - moved interstate and I was so sad but then I started to receive the most amazing mail ever from her and we remained pen pals and when they moved to yet another state it was the beginning of some of the best holidays of my life visiting her and her family, we never did live close by again and she now lives overseas but we always catch up when she comes home to visit family. I hope for Sonia and Zoe and Zoe that they will remain lifelong friends and much joy will come out of this parting for you all.
amanda
Wednesday 17th of January 2018
We're trying to soak up all the cuteness and sweetness of our kids being little bitties. (Our two year old literally ran down the hall to me, grinning, when I got home this evening--be still my heart!) But our oldest is now seven, and I'm starting to get glimpses of how much fun it is going to be to hang out with them as growing people. Bravo for you for this adventure. :)
Jo
Wednesday 17th of January 2018
It doesn't have to be super expensive to be fun. I remember when my daughter was 3 we were going to the beach for a vacation. We had been telling her about it for awhile. Anyway, she had to go to the restroom about 20 minutes down the road. We stopped at a McDonald's that had a playroom. We had never been to a McDonald's (or fastfood) with her because we don't eat it. With big eyes (all excited), she stated, "Is this vacation?" We joked we could have made her just as happy with a cheeseburger and a trip to the playroom as we did at the beach for a week. Haha. This was a great idea. I'm sure they will remember it.