This past weekend was one for the books. We stayed in town and didn’t really do anything fancy except spend it together, doing things we enjoy, which is the whole point of weekends, right? Here’s a quick recap of this ordinary summer weekend that left us feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the world come Monday morning…or maybe just wishing for one more day of weekend?? Haha.

Here, in no particular order, is our Weekend Top Ten:

(Sidenote: who am I kidding? Of course it’s in an order…I am way to OCD for this to be truly random. It is in the chronological order of the weekend because trying to rank activities in terms of importance/fun would involve a level of stress that would unravel any weekend relaxation achieved

1. Friday at the Fountain: So in our neighborhood, right down the street from Sugar Bear’s daycare, there is a little park with a wall of water they call ‘The Fountain’ and in the summertime, people gather here for live music, a pop-up beer and wine stand, and food. Free, easy parking is across the street, and Chick-Fil-A isn’t too far either. We popped over for a couple hours to let Sugar Bear roam wildly, get her entire outfit soaked, and dance around the fountain. I got to relax my pregnant belly in an Adirondack chair and enjoy the show watching Mike attempt to nurse a beer while chasing a sassy toddler. What a way to kick off the weekend!

2. Movie Night & Rummikub: After Sugar Bear hit the hay, Mike and I watched The Glass Castle, which was based on the amazing book by Jeanette Walls about her troubling childhood growing up in an abusive home. Not the most lighthearted film, but very moving and well done. Afterwards we just needed something lighthearted so we pulled out Rummikub, drank mocktails, and listened to classic rock courtesy of Alexa.

3.Sugar Bear’s First Baby Doll: Saturday morning we were up and at ’em and headed to breakfast at Old Ebbitt Grill. Mike’s parents gave us a generous gift card for his birthday so we enjoyed French toast, coffee, and an omelette at this DC landmark spot. Bonus–we brought along the baby doll we ordered for Sugar Bear and gave it to her at the table. She was over the moon excited and it was so sweet to watch her smoosh her face into the baby’s!

4. An Old Town Stroll: After nap time, we headed into Alexandria to roam the streets and do a little shopping…we scored some great finds at H&M and Gap Outlet, grabbed ice cream, and picked up cupcakes for our evening at the Robersons’ house.

5. Hanging with the Robersons: Joy and Joel recently completed some big renovations in their basement (added a kitchen) and backyard (built a porch and leveled the land) and we finally got to see these FABULOUS finished spaces on Saturday night! In other news, Caroline did NOT like when I held Baby Eliza (uh-oh!) but did like stealing Luke and Toby’s toys, especially their doggie guitar 🙂

6. Couples Massage, courtesy of WAIFWYP: Sunday morning, Mike and I snuck out of the house for a prenatal/couples massage at a spot near Caroline’s daycare. My rugby friends gifted us this after we hosted them for a weekend back in June and it was such a wonderful gift! I think we both realized we needed to get away together, if even for an hour, and the massage was perfect.

7. Sweet Cousin Holly: Ahh, the one who made the massage possible. She stayed with Caroline for the morning while we escaped. (Side story: when Mike and I were heading out the door, saying goodbye to Caroline and Holly, Caroline turned to Holly, waived, and said ‘bye!’ as she headed for the door too. It was equally sad and adorable how she just assumed she was coming with us and we were all leaving Holly). Holly was a godsend and kept Caroline entertained and happy (by feeding her raisins). Thank goodness for Holly!

8. DEAR Time: Caroline took a 3 hour nap on Sunday afternoon that was blissful because Mike and I used the time to Drop Everything And Read (DEAR, for you children of the 1980s). I started reading the book on poverty in America called $2.00 a Day. It’s eye-opening to say the least, the sheer number of American families working their tails off to stay afloat but are barely scraping by.

9. Baby Friends and Footballs: After naptime, we headed over to visit Caroline’s friend Raina and her sweet parents for a little baby playdate and cookout. There was toy stealing, hair grabbing, and a great goldfish cracker massacre, so clearly a great time was had by all. After burgers, Raina’s dad grabbed a football and we headed over to a playground near their house. Caroline LOVED the football. It was as big as her torso but she wouldn’t take her eyes (or hands!) off of it. She and Raina went down (and then climbed up) the slides over and over.

10. Milk Shakes & Friday Night Lights: Sunday night, I dropped off Mike and Caroline at the house for some bonding and bath time and headed out to grab a milkshake and an ice cream sundae for us parents to enjoy at home after the little one was down. We are making our way through Friday Night Lights (yes, AGAIN) because I just can’t stay away from Coach and Tammi Taylor for too long! Cheers to relaxing Sunday nights!