Week-end Getaway

This past week-end was Art's company's annual Christmas Party at the Arlington Hotel in Hot Springs. An opportunity to have a week-end away (without being too far away) before the baby is born ,along with a discounted room rate, and the availability for my mom to come babysit made it seem like the perfect timing to get away for a few days. The last time we were even alone together for dinner was last May and I was pregnant with Lily the one other time we made it to the Christmas Party. We got to Hot Springs late Friday night and enjoyed having a quiet dinner in a fairly empty restaurant. Saturday morning we were up early ( I seem to be unable to sleep past 7:30 even with no kids to wake me up) so we had breakfast and decided to do some shopping at some of the cool stores in downtown Hot Springs. We wandered by a Toy Store called the Toy Chest and since I had a few more things to pick up went in. This was a very cool toy store. It is privately owned by a family who opened it 21 years ago after the husband retired. They introduce themselves to everyone that comes in and show you around the store. They only stock good well made toys that kids enjoy playing with and only a handful of their toys require batteries. I was very impressed with their toys and books that they had. We spent quite a bit of time in there and bought a few things. I will definitely keep that store in mind as birthdays throughout the year come up.

After shopping we went to the movies. It had been ten years since we had gone to see a movie just the two of us! By then it was time to get ready for the party. The food was good, the games were entertaining, and the band that played was excellent. It was a very enjoyable evening. Sunday morning I was up early (again) and although had thought about hanging around in Hot Springs and going home later in the afternoon, I missed my babies and was ready to go home. It was wonderful for Art and I to have some much needed time alone but it was the first time I had been away from Lily and was ready to get back to her and the rest of the children. I do hope to be able to do it again sometime but it will probably not be for a couple of more years.