Girls’ Trip 2.0

This past (long) weekend was our second annual Mama, Baba, HQ Trip. While last year’s adventure, the start of what I hope will be a forever-tradition, took us to Waco, TX and all things Magnolia (Fixer Upper), Girls’ Trip 2.0 was all about that ocean life in Clearwater, FL. A beach getaway was also a great reason for Mom and me to set aside some time for an afternoon out (lunch and a manicure-pedicure).


Like last year, we had plenty of sun - and heat - and found ourselves wondering how much hotter we could get. The answer: not much hotter or we may have melted...and we will not discuss what the humidity did to our hair! We also found ourselves enjoying the simplicity of our days: a leisurely beach commute,  mealtime chats, and dusting sand off the cutest little toes and out of some little pink Crocs. 

The tiniest member of our trio was undaunted by the heat and could have spent the entire day bobbing in the ocean. In fact, she pretty much did. She learned about seagulls (“Shoo, birds! No, no, no!”), salt water (“Mmmm, Mama.”), and marine animals (“Hold? Mama, please.”). And while swimming in the ocean may be her new favorite activity, a close second is watching the garbage truck pick up trash, so you can imagine HQ’s delight when it was garbage day in Florida. 

What a tremendous gift to have the opportunity to take a trip like this with my mom and my tiny human! I will treasure the many memories we made, and I will never forget the joy on H’s face as she got to experience something new with her Baba and me!

Clearwater Beach

cabana life was THE life!





a Madeira Beach boardwalk









Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Just a Little Evening Adventure

Image
Sometimes you have those days that turn out to be so very different than you expected them to be.  Wednesday was one of those days.  We welcomed houseguest Tuesday evening, and I thought I might do a bit of climbing with them in the morning, but then I expected to return to my typical routine - take a hike/go for a run, do some work and head to the gym for some evening climbing with Brian.  Instead, we decided to solo the Second Flatiron, a six-hundred or so foot climb up one of Boulder's most notable landmarks.     To the best of my recollection, I have not soloed anything before (read: climb without a rope or protection/gear).  The only part that unnerved me, however, was the 'jump.'  This was a point where, along the climb, you are required to leap across a divide in the rocks. I decided the benefits outweighed the cost/risk/fear, and I joined Brian, Alex and Cait, our houseguest, and Josh, another Sconnie native and AdRock climber living the d...
Read more

Stylin' in My New Ride!

Image
Last Friday was an exciting day for me.  Though the new school year was rapidly approaching and my nerves were out of control in anticipation of starting a new school year in a new school with a relatively unfamiliar staff, I happily headed to the car dealership to pick up my new ride, a beautiful white Ford Fusion with all sorts of bells and whistles!   We haven't had a new car in the Runnells family in a few years...and that car quickly became Brian's.  This car, however, is all mine and I LOVE IT!!  A big THANK YOU goes out to my hubbers, who dealt with all the less-than-enjoyable stuff that went along with getting this car  (suffice it to say, our initial car salesman was less than professional and almost drove us to another  dealership).  I think about it each time I get into the car. Doesn't my ALUMNI plate holder look good?!  Want to listen to a little SIRIUS radio?  I'm lovin' making calls via my car Drivi...
Read more

Helping Chelsea and Kyle

Image
Brace yourselves... this is a long one...and I'm asking for your help. As some of you may know, someone very close to me, Chelsea Bullis, experienced a life-changing event on Sunday, June 10, 2012.  She and her boyfriend, Kyle, were in a terrible motorcycle accident that left them both seriously injured.   Chelsea and her family have always been a part of my life. Chelsea's Aunt Anita was my first babysitter, and eventually her grandma, Maureen, and  her mom, Lynn,  took turns taking care of my brother and me.  Chelsea's Aunt Lainey is my mom's very best friend.  Chelsea, her brother Chad, her cousins Sam and Rachael and I all grew up together.  We took summer trips together, and when I was old enough, I began taking care of Chelsea, her brother and her cousins.  Chelsea and her family were so close to me that we began referring to each other as cousins...and 20+ years later, it is still how we refer to one another.   So ...
Read more