Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Just the Two of Us


Recently we started what is probably a new Schneider family tradition - "Just the Two of Us" weekends! It all started when Miss Lyla Anne turned 6 and we received an invitation for her party in Chicago where they live. The timing for a family weekend away was less than ideal, given I was in the peak of business travel. Because we try really, really, really hard to not deny the kids experiences like these just because our adult lives our busy, we quickly launched into "how can we make this work for everyone" mode and VOILA the "just the two of us weekend" was born!

This was Josie's blurry-blissed-out reaction when we told her she was getting on the Megabus with her Dad and taking it straight to downtown Chicago to meet Lyla at the American Girl Store downtown.

HAPPY DANCE TIME!


Beatrice and I dropped them off in downtown Cincinnati and our special weekend - just me and the wee one begun!  First things first, pink donuts with sprinkles! Because, the best days always start with donuts!

Then a haircut!

And a trip to the Newport Aquarium to meet the real Weeki Wachee Mermaids!





Then we took a train ride with a view of the city.




Next stop? A trip to Grandma & DD's house on our way to the Yellow Springs Street Fair! Granddaddy's basement never disappoints!


Then it was Street Fair time!  There's always something to see at the Street Fair! 

Then we picked up a new furry friend. Bea named him "Chetchy!" (Of course Bea named him Chetchy.)

We picked petunias!

We also drummed (photo above) and danced and twirled and played!







After a lonnnnng fun-filled day, we took Grandma & DD up on their offer to spend the night and Bea sacked out on the floor before we knew it!

In the morning we headed home and decided a trip to Ikea was in order. Bea was THRILLED with her Swedish lunch and treats! 


At Bea's insistence, we then took a trip to Michaels to pick up a fun craft! It had 18 gazillion million pieces and took a couple hours to finish but it was so fun chatting away while we put it together.

So, three cheers for the Just the Two of Us weekend. It was such a good reminder of how much the kids need individual time with each of us. Little Bea really found her voice this weekend and I just let her talk and talk and talk and talk. She's the sweetest little thing and I'm so grateful for the time together! 

Josie's weekend in Chicago was awesome too. Josie & Lou had hours just the two of them to talk on the bus and just hang out. And the Birthday Girl had a pretty great weekend, too!