GIRLS TRIP to the BEACH HOUSE

Hey Everyone!


I am so excited to be writing to you all today. For our next bucket list adventure we are going to a BEACH HOUSE!!! Yeah! So, heres the plan... Let's take an all-girls trip (#6) to a beach house (#7) and party like it's 1999! And I don't like Prince, but I find that I could not help a bit of cheesiness in my excitement. If you have ever seen my sister, aunt,mom and I get together it's non-stop, pee your pants comedy hour! OK, sorry about the lack of accessible bathrooms reference... I promised my sister I would never tell on her. :D (see Tammy, told you I would get you back for that time when you told Mom that I snuck out of the house when I was 15!)


I must admit, the pressure to get just the right beach house was all put on my shoulders by.... well myself. But think about this, it will be my mom's first time staying in a beach house. And unless life alters dramatically, it will be her last one too. This has to be a special place that is beautiful and peaceful. Somewhere that we can just sit and stare at one of God's most powerful earthen gifts, the ocean. 


Last weekend I hunted for just the right place on one of my favorite sites (vrbo.com) and guess what? For about $500 or more per night, I found the perfect place! (envision me choking right about now) Yeah right, we just don't belong to the $500 a night set. I tried to downgrade my desires for my mom's adventures just a bit.


Short story long, I sent off several inquiries for houses along the central coast area and prayed that God would put on someone's heart to be warm and kind and generous, without me even having to ask. Perhaps someone would give us a break if we went mid-week? I did not have to wait long for His blessing.

On Sunday we had finished an exciting and somewhat painful day of bowling with our friends from church. You may think that being as tall as I am and having played High School and college sports that I would be good at most sports. But I plead that bowling is NOT a sport! It is a painful exercise of hurling an 11 pound rock down 30 feet of vast nothingness, trying to hit 10 pins that are little more than a mirage when I am not wearing my glasses all the while trying not to fall on my rear with those disease-ridden slip-n-slide excuses for rental shoes! My 9 year-old son even beat me... This "sport" has no dignity!


But all is well that ends well I suppose. I hobbled home to a cheerful message from Cynthia Haines, the owner of the Sand Dollar Beach House in Santa Cruz. I immediately called her back hoping that this would be the one. 


During our conversation she asked what occasion we were renting her house for and I told her about the bucket list and how special this trip was to us. We had a wonderful conversation and shared out thoughts and struggles about health issues in loved ones.  As we got to the point of discussing the rental, do you know what that kind lady did? She gave us an impressive discount to rent the house on a prime weekend!

I was so grateful that I bounced around for the entire day (even with my sore "you know what!" I called my mom right away and told her the fantastic news and so we are all geared up now to travel the eight hour drive up to Santa Cruz, stopping at every travel station for all things essential on a girl's road trip: Starbuck's, Peanut M&M's and Dr. Pepper.


Our adventure begins on the 12th of February and I hope that you will continue to join this adventure with us. Pray that my sister, Tammy, gets the time off from work and that my mom will have the strength to go and enjoy her first stay in a beach house.


FROM A VERY EXCITED DAUGHTER...
MUCH LOVE!