The "we" in that last sentence wasn't my little family (although Brandon adores her and her husband Pete and was super sad to be left at home). The we in that sentence are Brityn (my dear friend), Kari (my sister-in-law), and Miss Sunshine (she was the former nanny for their family and she is CRAZY awesome). Brityn called Aspen to set up our trip and told her that it would only be Brityn visiting. The rest of us were a complete surprise.
We left Friday afternoon after lunch and hit the road in Brandon's Acura. We had a great ride down, laughing and listening to 90's jams that only people in their late 20's/early 30's can really appreciate- snacking on red vines, plums and trail mix. Even with this party on wheels going on, we still had time to make a plan of how we wanted to surprise her. We decided to park a little distance from their house and have Brityn, who they were expecting, to go and knock on the door. We waited 5 minutes and then sent me to the door. What a treat! She was so completely shocked and started crying at this point. 5 minutes later, the door knocks again and it's Kari! Because Kari, Brityn and I are all friends she totally didn't expect her final guest who knocked on the door 5 minutes later- Miss Sunshine! (her real name is Debbie, but I think we called her that maybe 2xs). There were lots of tears and hugs.
That night, we ate dinner together and headed off for a little Super Target run (since I forgot jammies, and that's an awkward thing not to have when you're staying at someone else's house). While Kari and Miss Sunshine distracted her, Brityn and I made a mad dash grocery run. It was so Super Market Sweep! I loved the thrill of trying to check out before I was caught. We spent the night cackling and went to bed after almost peeing ourselves watching YouTube videos. Well, everyone except Kari and I that is. We shared a room and were up till 3am. I had a great time! I feel like we walked into this sister-in-laws and friends and are walking out sisters.
We got up at 6:30 the next morning and got to work! I won't be able to do it justice and I won't be able to make it sound not cheesy, but it was like a symphony. We all went because we are friends of Aspen's, but what we didn't know is that we are an absolute dream team when it comes to putting a house in order. Kari snapped on the rubber gloves and cleaned 4,000 sq ft. to sparkling. Brityn and I cleaned out the fridge, organized the pantry, and made an absolutely ridiculous amount of food for their freezer, pantry and fridge- all healthy and full of vitamins. We ate homemade warm roasted coconut granola, carrot cranberry bran muffins, chicken noodle soup with homemade wheat noodles, roasted butternut squash soup, turkey sausage/roasted veggie lasagna, honey whole wheat French toast, and more. Their fridge is brimming with lots of fresh fruits and veggies cut up, washed, ready to use. Miss Sunshine washed kids, played with them, fixed their appliances, folded clothes and helped Kari with the house. Nobody needed to be told what to do, we were all experts in our areas and we had an incredible time. We then, of course, all had naps.
That evening, we went out just us girls and got mani/pedis and had dinner. After dinner, Kari dyed Aspen's hair a darker color so it would look fuller. Radiation and chemo have thinned it out a bit and she looks fabulous as a dark temptress! While they were playing beauty shop, I made another run (sneaky style) to Target for diapers, dishwasher soap, Ziploc bags, etc. It made me feel like Santa Clause. It was super fun.
We went to bed around midnight after another round of laughing and talking. Well, everyone but Kari and I...we clocked in around 2 am this time :) Next morning, up at 6:30 again. I made everyone breakfast and prepared their dinner for that night (since we had to leave after church) and rocked the juicer with Pete. We had a tasty time together and then headed off to church. Aspen goes to the church of Christian Science. I really liked it. It was good to be there with her and Peter and pray together for our dear friend. We had a seriously tear filled goodbye in the parking lot and left for home. No one could speak for a long time...probably because we just left our hearts behind in a hot parking lot in Arizona. Things livened up a bit when we got out a romance book on CD. We ate Carl's Jr. and book clubbed it all the way home, pausing the CD to dissect the characters and their relationships. We had some AWFUL 90 minute traffic jam that had us inching. Minus the guy we saw peeing and the girl we saw getting digging in her trunk with no pants or underwear on (Brandon's theory is that she pooped), it was nice because it gave us longer with our book.
It was one of the most beautiful weekends of my life and I learned so much. Thanks to Brandon for providing for me so well that I can go help our friends like this and for all the husbands who stayed home and wrangled the kiddos.
On a final note, this is Brityn getting her first pedicure ever. She has feet like mine- like we are wearing shoes made of sandpaper at all times. The sweet lady got finished scraping her callouses off and said, "Well, you just lost 2-3 pounds down here." I looked down at the pile and it was like it had snowed. I laughed mercilessly and took a picture...but she got me back. There's a super embarrassing Jamie Leavitt pedicure photo floating out there.
"Peace out suckers!"- Banyan Marthaler, age 4
The four of you are rock stars - so glad the trip went absolutely perfectly.
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