food + friends + fun

 

whew! what a great weekend. food and friends. chicken and waffles. a day trip to tucson to meet two darling gals and their hubbies and babies, who were equally as darling. we packed a lot into a few days.

i got in a solid five-miler on saturday and returned for a mini "loga" session with miss elinor. not a super productive mat time but listening to her chirp, "lo-ga ma-ma?" as she nods wildly and drags my mat to me makes up for it. she's so funny. and her da-dog (down dog) is on point. that's her signature move. we are working on plank but she feels the same way her mama does about that one...

after breakfast, our little family headed out to open gym at a nearby play center. too fun. we rocked our sporty gear and socks and just ran around together. elinor was very composed during the whole exercise. she carefully chose her activities and moved cautiously from one to the next. meanwhile, ben and i turned into a bunch of goofballs and chucked squishy balls at each other in a ridiculous game of spousal dodgeball. pretty sure elinor got in a few eye rolls while she played nicely with her box of sensory toys. i blame our behavior on the michael jackson playlist blasting in the joint. it was so fab. and! and! elinor shared toys with a little boy. it was darling and made me all kinds of melty happy mama.

later on in the day after showers and naps (yes, there is a chance i took a little nap too...) we dropped off miss elinor for an evening of play at the grandparents' house while us parents went out on the town for our monthly dinner club with some friends. so glad this plan is working out because it is great. our triple-date crew grabbed a table at lolo's chicken and waffles. and oh man, this local institution did not disappoint. we had THE BEST server ever and the food was crazy tasty. and guys, they have kool-aid on tap. i did not partake but i love the idea of it. we spent a couple of hours eating our way through stacks of cinnamon-y waffles and fried chicken WITH the hot sauce. it is must. that spicy with the maple sweetness of the syrup is magic. can't wait for next month. perhaps we will take the party outdoors as i have high hopes for the weather in october...

on sunday, we hopped in the wagon for a little day trip to tucson. what is it about road trips? they feel so good. we had 90s alternative music pumping in the background and just enjoyed the ride. we talked. elinor napped. it was perfection. and it felt like any cares we might have had just blew out the sunroof within moments of hitting the highway. we need more of these. but i digress.

we rolled into town at noon, parked our car outside of zinburger and parked our booties at a big table of great people. i have befriended kate and marisa on instagram in the last year or so. i have watched them handle life's challenges and changes with grace and beauty and i have watched them grow their families too. these ladies, i tell ya. they are lovely. and they have some pretty darn cute babies. oh, and while the gals and littles had a lovefest, our men bonded over talk of fatherhood and sports and burgers. elinor shot the babies some sassy faces. she wasn't too sure about all that cuteness competition at first but by the end of the meal, she was giving kisses and stroking baby heads and sharing toys and attempting to share her water too. precious, precious. and hey! they didn't even kick us out of the restaurant! a 7 week old and a 4 month old and a 22 month old. we did it. of course, we failed to get a group shot...but, next time.

so, what else is there to say, really? it was one of the good ones.

oh wait, there's more! the biggest news of all. we FINALLY made a decision on our dining table and chairs. the order is placed. we have a delivery date. happy dance and high fives. get ready for some dinner parties, y'all.