AKT plus kids playdate winter 2015

My two best friends are the greatest.  If you've been here before, you'll recognize them from when I've written about them before (our 30 trip, weddings, baby showers).  When my kids are asked who Mumma's friends are they answer my sisters and Katie and Karpy. 

We are all mommas now and about an hour separate Kate and I while multiple states separate us from Karpy (PA vs. NC).  So out of sheer missing each other and our kids and in an effort to be the kind of moms that do brave things (like drive solo four hours with preschoolers for a weekend getaway)-we met up halfway in Fredricksburg, VA for a playdate!  (my two best friends that know me so well joked that I only wanted to do this seemingly rather daunting trip for blog post material - hahahah, they were only half right!)  And thus, we've started a (hopefully) bi-annual tradition of our AKT plus kids halfway meet up playdate.  (Can we please continue do this when our kids are teenagers?)

Since it was the dead of winter and we were traveling with six kids five and under - we stayed closed to the hotel for the weekend to create our fun.  We stayed at the Residence Inn and it had all the amenities we needed!  Indoor swimming pool, double bedroom suites, mini kitchen areas, kid-friendly tv channels, pull-out beds/forts.  It was perfect for our weekend.  Don't you worry, we hit up that indoor swimming pool with serious enthusiasm that weekend - four separate times in two days!

Since we stayed inside nearly the whole time, the kids were pleased as punch to basically exist in their jammies all weekend.  As were the Mums too...or at least the Mom version of coziness:  yoga pants and comfy sweater shirts

...and we certainly enjoyed a fair amount (read:  excessive) of snacking and eating ranging from free continental breakfast to ordering in Chinese and pizza, to snacking on  gooey chocolate date balls and consuming approximately the kids' weights in oreos.

With six kids under six, understandably we had a few meltdowns during the weekend.  Kids uninterested in their paparazzi mommas, food and snacks that weren't exactly what they wanted at that exact moment, or as we were heading out on Sunday morning when Gemmi cried for 30 minutes straight about 'leaving her friends.'

But it was mostly about playing, being silly, and making new memories with old friends. 

On Saturday night, the four littlest kids went to bed, while the 'late night crew' (and by 'late night:' it was 8:30pm) stayed up and giggled endlessly about nonsensical things.  The kids on a mix of punch-drunk exhaustion and being temporarily allowed to make up songs with the word 'poop' in them.  While the moms were giddy from mini bottles of champagne and glasses of wine.

I'll tell ya, we had so much fun that weekend four hours away from home in a hotel room in the dead of winter.  It was just like old times between the three of us - messy buns, a giddy wine buzz, and all.

...well, sort of just like old times

old times plus our favorite six little humans.

Dear Sophia, Greyson, Gemma, Charlie, Andrew, and Violet,

A happy life is 90% about who you spend it with.

Be like us and spend it with people
who listen to you to understand,
who make you laugh and smile,
and who encourages you to be YOU!

You guys are so lucky and you don't even know it yet.

We love you forever and ever,
even when you get so big,

your mummas
(Allison, Katie, and Tab)

akt fo lyfe.