Mother/Daughter Trip... Dr. Dobson ROCKS!!!

Yes, it's true... Dr. Dobson DOES ROCK!!! (and yes... so do I! LOL! Just ask my kid!)

I went away with my 11 year old daughter on a Mother/Daughter Trip for 4 days...

"Our" Plan was to get out of town... listen to Dr. Dobson's "Preparing for Adolescence" CD's... stay in a hotel and go swimming, hot tubbing, (cable TV)... and - of course - School Clothes Shopping in a bigger city than where we live!!!

MY Plan... to be able to have some serious conversations about what I went through as a teenager... values I was - and WASN'T - raised with... honestly talk with my daughter about how I was raised and what things I want to do differently with her... pray together, not to mention laugh A LOT, have fun, oh yes - and SHOP!!!)

um... HER Plans - I think pretty much - SWIM and SHOP...

In the end - we were all - er - um - both (...whatever!?) - all of our goals were met! We had SO MUCH fun!!!

Before we left town - a couple of days before - I had Kaye listen to a couple of the CDs with me at home... and after each CD I would have her write something down in a private journal... I just wanted her to have something to look back on and jog her memory or answer questions... so as she listened to the CDs she would stop and ask what a word meant and write it down in her journal... and when each one was finished - she would write a little something down... that was my plan for each CD!

We left town on Wednesday morning... headed just about an hour and a half away... it was a good road trip - and for the first time I let her sit in the front seat... as much as we didn't need "Eye Contact" for the CD that I had cued up (CD #4! LOL!)... I did want her to be able to stop the CD if she had any questions or wanted to talk about anything... Anyway - already - she was feeling pretty grown up and cool! You have to know - I just started letting her sit in the front seat IN TOWN a few weeks ago!? We have air bags and I just thought she was too small... but she is almost 100 pounds and I think the requirement is 90 pounds!? I can't remember - but I know that she is as big as many teens and adults... she is getting taller it seems by the minute... We listened to the CD and she handled it well! We of course - have talked with her about sex and all that stuff since she was really young... she has many books on the changes her body is going through and so she has a handle on that... but to have Dr. Dobson talk so clearly and plainly about what happens to the male and female body and how it all works... and then how well he explains how important it is to save this until marriage... it simply reiterated what we have been telling her all the while!!! He also touched on the Big M issue... I thought he did great and I agree with his view of that... when we arrived at the Mall, we had just finished CD #4... I wanted her to write something down as we had been doing - but I knew she would probably need some time to write her thoughts and process... I also knew that much of what the CDs addressed - she hadn't even been necessarily curious about yet - but I wanted her to have the TRUTH before entering Middle School and hearing things that are not right... when I asked if she wanted to write something down before we went in to the Mall... she said, "No - I already knew all of that stuff!" (WHAT?!!?) I said, "Um - ALL of it?!" She said, "Yes - we saw that movie at school!" ...um!? Hello!? I said, "Well - that movie was supposed to just talk about your body changes - it didn't cover the boys body changes, and it didn't cover exactly how Sex works... and I am SURE it didn't talk about Masturbation!?" (Right!...) She was like, "Oh - yeah - I didn't know that stuff... (long pause...) ... but I already knew what I needed to for right now!" (Oh - she is BRILLIANT, this one! LOL!) So - she jotted down a few things real fast and was ready for lunch - and SHOPPING!!!

We went to Columbia Center... (well - ok - FIRST I wanted to find our Hotel which was not too far away from the Mall... I thought I was so prepared because I had printed out all these directions to and from the Mall and the hotel and the restaurants we were going to... well - turns out - MapQuest happened to completely simply just MAKE UP a WHOLE ROAD that doesn't exist?! So - FINALLY - after driving back and forth and finding out own private U-turn spot... we found the hotel and found our way back to the Mall... and THEN we went shopping! Her favorite stores?! Rave, Rave Girls, Old Navy, Macy's, JC Penny's, Sears... and yes - and don't forget CLAIRE'S?! Mommy just wanted to find Barnes and Nobles and get a STARBUCK's!!!? Turns out - forgetting (yes - !??!!? FORGETTING!?) to have coffee for three days can turn into one Helluva Big Ass Headache?!?!?! Which - in turn - makes Mommy cranky in Claire's... and needing a Nappy at the Hotel!!! Kaye was a trooper... and we quickly wrapped it up and found our hotel - without getting lost - and checked in to our room. Praise GOD it has cable and she was happy watching the Suite Life of Zach and Cody while I 'rested' on the bed...

I began to feel a bit better and we noticed that our 'neighbors' were SUPER SUPER Loud! At first we thought it was a TV that was too loud - then we realized it was someone on a cell or phone and others just talking and laughing... we started making jokes about how LOUD our NEIGHBORS are... (talking rather loudly ourselves...) So - when my migraine began to lighten up... I remember reading Elsie Flannigan's Blog and seeing super cute pictures of her and some friends jumping on the bed in their hotel room... so... yep - I did it... well - I let HER do it... I took a TON of pictures of her jumping all over our bed... then she saw that some of our snacks (aka CANDY- began to fall our of the box - she decided a CANDY BEDSPREAD would be fun to jump on... anyway - in all honesty - the bed Jumping Photo Shoot lasted maybe 5-10 minutes tops... then I became a Mom again and made her stop... after all - my headache wasn't COMPLETELY gone... and we did have 'neighbors' below us who were NOT loud...

We changed our clothes and got ready to go out for dinner... to the Olive Garden! YUM!!! She was so excited... that girl - she would have happily just had Bread Sticks.. LOL! So easy to please?! We had a great dinner... our Waiter was named something crazy like Franco-Antonio and he could not have BEEN more Italian! LOL! Accent and all... made the whole experience better! LOL! We ate a yummy dinner - and had great conversation and just too much fun! When we got back to our hotel... literally - WHEN we got back - like - I am talking SECONDS after entering our room... the Hotel Phone rang... Kaye was so excited she grabbed it and it was a gal from the Front Desk calling to say that they had complaints about noise... slamming doors, screaming, laughing, jumping... Kaye looked so scared... LOL! She whispered to me what was said and I told her to tell the gal that we literally JUST got back from dinner... and we have been gone!?!? So she told the gal and the lady just said, "OK - well - if you hear anything just let us know!?" and she hung up! Hmmm?! Strange?! We hadn't been home for even a minute and they are saying that we are being to loud?! Whatever?! Then - about a minute later, "Mark" from the Front Desk called and I answered it... he asked for me by name and I identified myself... he was like, "Well - we are getting complaints that it is too loud up there... some jumping or slamming doors or something!?" I was so mad... I said, "Well - Mark - we literally just walked into our room about one minute ago and we've been gone to dinner for over an hour..." He was like, "Oh - OK - well I don't know if you have kids with you..." I said, it is just my daughter and I and we have not been slamming doors or being loud... we just got here!" So - he is like, "OK - well - we are RIGHT BELOW your room, and we heard some noise and just wanted to let you be aware that we are right below you..." I can't even remember how I ended the conversation -but I remember as I hung up thinking I should have complained about our loud neighbors - maybe it was THEM... but then I realized - (Remember - I had a MIGRAINE when we checked in...) we HAD no neighbors... it was a balcony that overlooked the Lobby and Front Desk area... hmmm... THEN I remembered the BED JUMPING... hmmm?! LOL!? OK - maybe they meant that EARLIER they heard noise?! Too funny?! So - the rest of the night we laughed and giggled about making too much noise... the thing is - I couldn't really care too much if they heard us - because WE heard THEM and thought that they were right next door to us... Later we 'snuck' down to the Pool and Hot Tub and - thanks to it being mid-week - we had it all to ourselves!!! Sweet! We swam and goofed off - quietly! - for a couple of hours...

Thursday we slept in a bit... enjoyed an awesome free breakfast... (made up for the "Noise!") After Breakfast, we spent some time in our room talking about growing up - what I went through as a Teen... things I want to do differently with her... values that I have now that I didn't then... we prayed together and God gave me a Psalm that I felt He said to have her write out and memorize... it is a Psalm that He said she would turn to and cling to in the years ahead... it will help her through difficult times and will encourage her to make Godly choices and decisions! THAT was so cool! She loved that part!!! Finally, we packed up and checked out of our hotel around noon! We went back to the Mall... and did a bit more shopping there... and then listened to another Dobson CD while we headed to Walla Walla to visit my sister and her family! We got to their house and my Niece showed up soon after... she took my daughter with her to show Kaye her new apartment that was just a block away... and then she took her to a thrift store and taught her the value and art of Thrift Store Bargain hunting... we all went out to dinner after that... Applebees has what they call the "Perfect Margarita"... um - oh yeah... they are right! Hadn't ordered a drink at a restaurant for maybe a decade?! LOL!? Every once in awhile I will have a glass of wine or a wine cooler at home... anyway - it was yummy... we visited for hours that night before going to bed!

Friday we had the house to ourselves as my sister and her dh went to work!!! We relaxed and listened to another CD on our own... we goofed off downtown and went to the Restaurant to meet up with my sister... then up to the Bumble Abode - a vacation rental they manage - for a few before meeting up with Karianna - my niece - again and going shopping some more! We went to about two or three more Thrift Stores - and then on to the Mall there... In the evening we ended up hanging out at Karianna's new apartment... they painted her living room a great color of GREEN... like - not quite Kelly Green... close - but cooler! ...and the Kitchen is PINK and GRAY! Too cute!!! We had a great Greek Pizza and just chilled there...

Saturday we were able to hang out with the fam' a bit more before heading home and listening to the last 2 CD's... We were happy to get home... to see Dave again and reconnect as a family... (Plus she got to show off ALL of her NEW CLOTHES... LOL!)

All in all - it was a GREAT trip - one she will remember not only because of the info she got... and the support she knows she has in me now... but also just because of all the fun we had and inside jokes we now share!!! God is good... and I trust that He will seal and keep all that He planted in Kaye over these last few days!!!

Now... I just have to upload and order those Pictures to SCRAPBOOK!!! LOL! (and yes... I am STILL waiting for Darcie to upload!?!?!?) LOL! I had plans of taking a picture of all her clothes and posting it with this update... but - somehow - she is STILL sleeping?!!?! Oh MY?! I should be doing better at getting her ready for School Mornings... tomorrow... I am sure I will wake her up early TOMORROW!?!?! LOL!? So - as far as the picture goes... I may add it later today?! We'll see?!

Scrap On, Ladies!
~Karrilee~