A Wonderfully "Unproductive" Weekend

I essentially got practically nothing "productive" done this weekend. I did not go over our bills, like I usually do on Saturdays. I did not clip coupons or do a full shopping trip. I did not grade papers (which I totally should have). I did not get a single house project done.

But I enjoyed my family and my friends, and overall, I celebrated life.

We celebrated Tiana's birthday with a small family party. If you were not invited, please do not take it personally. For Vinny's first birthday, we had a large party, and I remember it as more stressful than fun. For this party, I wanted to just enjoy my baby girl together with my family, so we invited just family and Tiana's one baby friend, Logan, and his family.

 

We had a balloon party, because there is nothing Tiana loves more than balloons. Marc borrowed a helium tank from work, and we just filled the house with balloons. I got cheap decorations from the dollar store, and made a fun balloon cake I found on Disney's family fun website. It was a quaint party, but beautiful. Perfect.


After the party, I went out with my mommy friends for a mom's night out. This is something we do once a month, and it is, in many ways, the highlight of my month. These are such awesome girls. They are so easy going and down for, as I figured out last night, well... anything. I am so lucky to have them as friends.

Today, after church, I hit the gym with my friend Barb, who is a great distraction at the gym. We don't see each other often, so there is always plenty to talk about, which is great for keeping my eyes off of the time on the elliptical.
 
When Tiana woke up from her nap, we decided to go hiking as a family. My initial idea for our first hike as a family of four was to stick to our ever-familiar, shady, flat Corriganville. This probably would have been a good choice. Instead, Marc was feeling the urge for something adventurous, so we ended up on a much more challenging trail, with no shade. When you get to the top of this trail, it does have a beautiful view of the valley, but it is one exhausting trail. We only hiked for about 40 minutes or so altogether, but the kids really enjoyed it. I am thinking next time we should hit Malibu Creek or Wildwood or something like that. Marc thinks we should bring the hiking backpack to Hawaii. We will be going to the Volcano Park, so it might be a good idea.

We finished off the weekend with out traditional family dinner with my parents, and my dad made one of my favorites, Arroz con Pollo. Yum.

So, as you see, it was a completely unproductive weekend, but it was time well spent.