A Great Adventure. Part One

I thought my Valentine’s Day post would consist of a couple of cute pictures of the girls and then a little memo to my one and only Valentine, Brent, who means the world to me.  Up until 3 days ago, I thought we were going to spend Saturday out on the town (bowling and belly dancing) with some friends.  I thought Brent was back to work Sunday and I had plans to visit my mom with the girls. 

All of that changed on Friday night when Brent handed me this note: 

Happy Valentine's Day Weekend!!!

You have earned an all expense paid trip for a weekend of relaxation from your adorably handsome husband. You and your closest friends will be packing your bags tonight so you are ready to head out in the morning. You might want to pack something warm, something nice, something comfy, and something to get wet in. Details of the trip as well as who is going will be revealed to you as the weekend unfolds. Enjoy!

Pick up Kristen M. at 9:00 AM. 

I was shocked.  I asked a million questions and, of course, I got no answers.  I am a planner, an organizer, and I like to be in the ‘know’.  I felt completely out of my element.  I had no idea that the unknown was only just the beginning.

Saturday morning came and I picked up Kristen M (at exactly 9:00. I was told “Don’t be late!”).  The look on her face when she opened the door was exactly how I felt “What is this all about and where the hell are we going?” 

The mystery adventure began! 

We were handed an envelope that read (in very big bold print) GO PICK UP KRISTEN J.

Done.  The look on Kristen J’s face was the same look that was still very evident on Kristen and I’s.  Kristen J had a big gift basket, snacks and 9 more envelopes.  They came with strict rules to only open when instructed to do so.  We were then told to go pick up Jenny. 

Jenny climbed in the van and her face continued the look of wonder  that was plastered on all of our faces…

 

Our group was complete and we were instructed to open the first envelope.  This envelope told us to go to the address listed (a local Starbucks) and start our day off with a warm drink and something to eat. 

  

Once we finished, we were told to open the second envelope.  This envelope was very thick.  This was a little unnerving :) 

 

Envelope 2

Now it is time to shop. Drive to the Albertville Outlet Mall and enjoy your girls shopping spree. Valentine's weekend sales are on so take full advantage. By 4:00 pm be sure to make your way back to the van and open envelope #3.

We were off!  A free ticket to shop!  This sort of adventure, we could handle.  They enclosed some coupons and we picked up a map when we got to the mall.  We made the most of the somewhat nice winter weather and knowing we were on a timeline, we stay focused and each found something nice for ourselves (or our cute kids) to bring home. 

Kristen J and Jenny are both building babies and due within a week of each other in August.  They had one of their first experiences with Motherhood Maternity and the infamous “strap on belly”.  For the most the bellies were able to help them figure out what shirts, dresses and pants would (hopefully) work out when they are truly round…  Of course strapping on a fake belly, on an adventure filled weekend, came with numerous opportunities to grab some pictures.

Four o’clock quickly came here is Kristen waiting to open the next envelope.  We were instructed to leave the mall (boo) and head to 404 West St. Germaine, in St. Cloud.  We were also given a set of directions from Google.   

At first the envelopes made my stomach a  little queasy. Like I said earlier, I’m a planner.  As the day went on, the excitement of the unknown adventure that was inside each envelope built.   We were having a blast, we felt completely spoiled by our husbands, and our day wasn’t even close to being complete…

We headed north on 94 to St. Cloud.  We were careful (or so we thought) to follow the directions closely.  We weren’t sure what exactly 404 West St. Germaine was and we were told we couldn’t open the next envelope until we arrived.

The continuation of our mystery weekend, complete with a much unneeded tour of residential St. Cloud, will follow.  Stay tuned!