More to be thankful for......

#11 - #13 - I spent last weekend in the hills of rural Virginia with my best girlfriends from college. We get together every year, usually in November, in various locations across the country. As we've gotten older and more settled in our lives we've moved from cramming into little apartments near campus for the weekend to flying cross country and renting gorgeous old houses and condos! From getting all dolled up and dancing the night away in bars to curling up in our pj's with bottles of wine to laugh and play games in front of a roaring fire! We lovingly refer to this as Girls Weekend. #11 - I am thankful to have attended St. Norbert College; a place that shaped me in so many ways. A place that brought the 9 of us together 13 years ago. Without these girls in my life I know that I would not be the same person I am today. #12 - I am thankful that although we have stressful jobs, families, etc. every single one of us makes Girls Weekend a priorty in our lives and it is rarely missed by anyone. That is so special. #13 - this year especially I am thankful for our expanding brood. Adriana made the trek from TX with special permission from her OB to fly at 34 weeks pregnant. Jackie was there fresh into her second trimester with baby#2. One of us found out she was traveling with a special surprise right before she left for the airport on Thursday morning (not sure they're sharing with others just yet so I'll leave her name out). And in an event we will always remember, one of us actually found out AT GW2011 that there will be another niece or nephew joining the crew (name omitted to protect the innocent!)!!

A stop at the National Mall to visit the monuments was in order on Sunday. A tribute to Wisconsin, the state where our clan started.

A Saturday at the wineries of VA - yes, we are all wearing the same shirt.

Cozying up for homemade dinner.



My girls.