Not Quite a Weekend Getaway...

 Every February I end up with a few vacation days that I have to use before March. Sometimes I just take a day off here and there, another year I’ve flown home to Illinois to see family, but this year I thought it would be fun for the three of us to go on a little family vacation.
  Court agreed and so the brainstorming began… where to go… if it was just the two of us we’d be on a beach somewhere right now- that’s been on our list for awhile. But with a two year old, we decided that might not be the way to go. February destinations with a toddler… the list is pretty short so we decided to stay local. In the past we’ve gotten a place in Steamboat or Vail and had a blast, we aren’t skiers- too many surgeries have resulted in our attempts. But we LOVE to snowshoe.

  I know its been done, I’ve heard of people snowshoeing with infants, but frankly it scares the bejeezus out of me-  I’m moving, she’s chilling-literally- on my back, we’re far into our hike and she gets frost bite and must live as an amputee just because I wanted to go for a walk in the snow. So picturing a weekend -and paying for peak ski season lodging- just didn’t seem to fit this time either.
  Then, as I tried not to trip over the piles in our ‘office/garage’ to get to the computer atop the cramped writing desk I have had since I was a tween, I thought, depressingly, what if we used the money we were going to spend on a mini-vacation on a little home improvement instead. Grown up decisions. Sigh. And Court agreed.
  So our little getaway quickly turned into an office overhaul and after the brief feeling of disappointment, we got excited about our project.
  The weekend arrived and after a little Valentine celebration out at Fish Restaurant-yum- we got to work. 
  We emptied, we cleaned, we painted, we helped out the economy with a new desk, chair, shelf and curtains and presto. Four days equals a new office.
  It isn’t going to go in the history books as the most exciting extended weekend ever, but if a marriage can survive painting and a 36 step desk assembly WITH a two year old who isn’t known for being the greatest napper, then I have to think this might rank up there after all. I even dare to say, we had fun. And for the record, Layla was amazing. Sure the temptation to get into the various piles we made throughout the house was too overwhelming at times, overall she did great- she handed us items from desk drawers to determine whether they were trash, Goodwill or keepers, she held onto one 'very important piece of the desk' as we put it together and for once in her life she took a long afternoon nap while we painted.
And an added note- typing this entry while drinking my coffee at my lovely new computer desk, admiring my granny smith green walls- it was definitely worth it in the end, and, after all,we were all together.