So this blog is 95% not photography related and No, we weren’t at the beach this weekend but we had a wonderful weekend and I feel the need to blog about it. And give some unsolicited advice.

Like many married couples with busy schedules and with children with busy schedules you put your relationship on the back burner to get everything else done with your career’s and with your children. My husband has a very demanding profession and his job requires long hours both at the office and away from the office. He is working 90% of his waking hours no matter where he is, because he is dedicated and well, when you are the only physician in a small town practice you have to. His dedication to his patients and his profession amaze me! I am a “Mom-preneuer” my job is to chase my dreams into full time photography while keeping the kids and pets alive, the house clean, cook dinner, do laundry, run errands, and give as much time as I can to my children’s school. Many nights he is so exhausted that he goes to bed when the kids go to bed, I end up staying up to edit photos, return messages to clients and make sure backpacks are ready for the dash out the door to school the next morning. You get the idea… everything else tends to come before our marriage.

I was out with my sister in laws and daughter Black Friday Shopping in November and I was telling them how I just would love to have a night away with him. I missed him, yes I see him everyday but I just missed him, I missed us. Asking Reg, yes he likes time with me but he also misses our kids too, and I totally get that, however I am with them all of the time they are not in school and he isn’t. So he likes to go places as a family when given the chance. And that’s okay, we make wonderful family memories that we will all cherish forever. My sister in laws got us a couple nights at our favorite hotel and passes to COSI for Christmas so we could either turn into a night away with the kids or just us and take the kids a separate time.

Fast forward a month or so after the gift, my husband decides to sign up for a local CME conference 35 min from our home so he can still go, get his CME hours but commute each day and be home with us in the evenings. I get the idea to ask my Sister In Law to come down and watch the kids the last day of the conference and I will get a hotel room, and go surprise him for the evening. Take him to dinner, walk around downtown, just be together.

So this past weekend was it. My fear was he would leave early since it was a Saturday and I would pass him heading North on the highway while I was Southbound, so through the week I kept saying “well the kids and I will come meet you when you are done and we can all go do something after. That worked. Saturday morning came and I had booked myself full of photo sessions for the morning so in between shooting some precious babies, I was packing and making sure everything was ready to go. Finished my sessions and my sister & brother in law arrived about 15 min later. The kids were so surprised. They had no idea anything was going on either because you know they are kids, and kids tell almost everything they know.

To say my kids love their aunt and uncle is an understatement, the sun rises and sets with them in my kids eyes. My Sister in Law never hesitates to get down in the floor and roll around with them, let Alee paint her nails crazy colors, create fake food out of play dough for hours, etc. She is just the best and loves her niece and nephew unconditionally. My Brother in Law will talk with, well really just listen, if you have ever talked with Trey you know it’s hard to get a word in sometimes, about anything and everything Star Wars. The majority of their time this weekend was spent playing, watching or talking about Star Wars. Trey just thinks his Uncle Chris is the coolest. We couldn’t be more blessed to have them as our kids aunt and uncle!

I edited a few quick sneak peeks for my clients, ate 1/2 a salad super fast and then attempted the fun job of packing my husband for overnight. Remember, he doesn’t know. Those of you that really know him, know he is a particular guy. We played the game of “what of Reg’s am I forgetting?” before I left.

The weather the past few days has just been gorgeous! Sunny and Hot, not normal April weather, so the drive to Charleston was beautiful. I pulled into the hotel to check in and Reg had texted me about 5 min prior to see what we were all doing so I responded asking him if he was on a break and he was so I asked him to meet me in the lobby and told him what all was going on. He seemed happy. He went back to the meeting and I checked in, took my stuff upstairs, parked my car, then went and found his and moved it to the right lot.

After his conference was over we walked across the street to the mall and ate at one of the seafood restaurants there. It was just so nice to sit and have a drink and chat about things going on and not have to worry about making sure the kids were happy and content. The food was okay, not sure what type of review I would give that place. Then we walked around the mall and bought some goodies for the kids and back down the street to the hotel. Asleep by 9:15 and not having to worry about waking up at 6am! A dream! Although, as any mom can tell you, it’s hard to sleep at night because you are always waiting for a kid to wake up needing you.

Sunday morning we packed up and went to a little breakfast place, First Watch, a few streets over from the hotel. We got there at just the right time because as we left the line was out the door. The coffee was great and breakfast was delicious! We will most definitely go back. After that we went to the “Gucci Kroger” on Cor G to grab some groceries that our location does not carry and then home.

While I was sad to see our 20 hours together come to and end, I was really happy to see my kids and hear about their day. They had a wonderful time, both shed a few tears at bedtime last night because they missed their aunt and uncle. My sister in law and I decided that we are going to start doing this every other month. It is just good for all of us.

Reg is not only my husband but is truly my best friend! He has seen me at my worst, at my best, never hesitates to tell me his opinion when he knows I am in the wrong or the right, he works his ass off for us, and he encourages and enables me to follow my dreams! He is never in front of me, he is always right by my side! We needed this past weekend to slow down and reconnect, thank you Larae and Chris for keeping our kiddos so we could have that time.

PSA; Date Your Spouse!!!

Photo Credit to Tabi Donohew from our Beach Vaca a couple years ago.