End of Summer Road Trip

Today, Reed had duty. I woke up and thought to myself...I should get Anna's room nice and clean before school starts...do a few chores...get ready to start the year off RIGHT. As I lay in bed, trying to get that get up and go-ness that would be needed to get her room done, I started thinking that we could certainly do something more fun. Busch Gardens came to mind, but really, we've been twice this week. Then I thought...well, maybe the movies would be a good idea. I quickly changed my mind when I realized that today was another GORG day. hmmm....What to do? What to do? Well, I decided to head to the Short Pump Mall in Richmond. I hadn't been there in probably 3 years, maybe more. We got gas and some lunch at WaWa and hit the road. We got a bit lost on the way there but I eventually remembered that I had my GPS on my phone. After that, we made it there easily. We had an amazing mommy-daughter day. We walked the top half of the mall and eventually stopped at Cold Stone. We never go there so it was a special treat. Actually, the day was FULL of special treats. We didn't buy much today. We did go into Build A Bear and I let Anna make a bear. Well, its a gray cat actually. Other than that, all we bought was a car charger for her DS (which didn't fit!) and some earring cleaning solution so she can begin wearing earrings again. Then we went to Cheesecake Factory for dinner. I haven't been there in more than 10 years! The closest one to us is in Virginia Beach and the wait is always horrible! I was expecting a wait since it was a Friday evening on a holiday weekend but we got a table right away. We had great food. After dinner, we hit the road and headed home. We thought about going to Busch Gardens on our way home to ride Loch Ness in the dark but I think we were both TIRED and ready to be home.

The highlights of my day? Well, I asked Anna why she still holds my hand when we walk in stores and stuff. She said that its because she loves me so much. Then when I surprised her with the Build A Bear, she told me over and over that she loves me. I said "You only say that when I buy you stuff." She said, "But, its still true, mom. I do love you!" Really, what a great way to spend the day!