October is the time us girls look forward to all year. That's when we get to go on the Girls' G.A.W.
What does G.A.W. stand for? A little background might help. Growing up, my mom would hand make a new calendar every month. The colored poster board, the yardstick, the permanent marker, stickers, decorations - the whole nine yards. With 8 people at home, it would quickly fill up with activities, church stuff, and birthdays, etc. One time, G.A.W. showed up on the calendar in big, bold writing. None of us knew what that meant. My mom explained that it stood for get away, as in she and my dad were going on a get away. We teased her that away was one word, not two. Well, she never changed it and it has totally stuck after all these years. That's what we call a get away in our family: G.A.W. We pronounce it so that it rhymes with the word law.
So, last weekend was the third annual Girls' G.A.W., which included my mom, my two sisters, my two sisters-in-law, myself, and Hannah. Hannah was a tag-along due to the fact that she's a nursing baby, which is the only exception to the no-kids-allowed-on-Girls'-G.A.W.'s rule.
There aren't a lot of rules besides not bringing children. All 6 of my mom's daughters and daughters-in-law are invited. Whoever can come will come. This year one sister-in-law who lives out of state unfortunately wasn't able to make it. Two years ago I couldn't come for the same reason. We always make sure we eat a lot of good food, which usually means going out to restaurants. We always make sure we do a lot of shopping, which usually involves outlets. We always make sure we do a lot of talking and laughing, which usually means staying up way too late. A sleep over is always in order and this year was at my mom's house. Usually attending the temple is part of it as well.
This year we met for lunch, and then went shopping for hours and hours - something that we Burnham girls can do like no other. Finding amazing bargains literally gives us some kind of rush and is what we do best.
What does G.A.W. stand for? A little background might help. Growing up, my mom would hand make a new calendar every month. The colored poster board, the yardstick, the permanent marker, stickers, decorations - the whole nine yards. With 8 people at home, it would quickly fill up with activities, church stuff, and birthdays, etc. One time, G.A.W. showed up on the calendar in big, bold writing. None of us knew what that meant. My mom explained that it stood for get away, as in she and my dad were going on a get away. We teased her that away was one word, not two. Well, she never changed it and it has totally stuck after all these years. That's what we call a get away in our family: G.A.W. We pronounce it so that it rhymes with the word law.
So, last weekend was the third annual Girls' G.A.W., which included my mom, my two sisters, my two sisters-in-law, myself, and Hannah. Hannah was a tag-along due to the fact that she's a nursing baby, which is the only exception to the no-kids-allowed-on-Girls'-G.A.W.'s rule.
There aren't a lot of rules besides not bringing children. All 6 of my mom's daughters and daughters-in-law are invited. Whoever can come will come. This year one sister-in-law who lives out of state unfortunately wasn't able to make it. Two years ago I couldn't come for the same reason. We always make sure we eat a lot of good food, which usually means going out to restaurants. We always make sure we do a lot of shopping, which usually involves outlets. We always make sure we do a lot of talking and laughing, which usually means staying up way too late. A sleep over is always in order and this year was at my mom's house. Usually attending the temple is part of it as well.
This year we met for lunch, and then went shopping for hours and hours - something that we Burnham girls can do like no other. Finding amazing bargains literally gives us some kind of rush and is what we do best.
We got take out at Pei Wei so I could put Hannah to bed for the night. YUMMY.
Some of us did mud masks. Lovely ladies, right? My mom also prepared and shared stories and never-before-seen pictures from her childhood. It was really fun. We enjoyed noticing which granddaughters resemble my mom when she was little.
Show-and-tell is a must. We LOVE showing each other what we bought and we ALWAYS tell how little we spent on each item.
My mom bought us all some fuzzy socks. Too bad it's still so darn hot here that we could only wear them for a few minutes before we had to ditch them. This winter, though, for sure.
The next morning was very leisurely and those who could stayed in bed for as long as they wanted (one of the best things about G.A.W.'s). Hannah woke up at her usual 6:20 a.m., so I was up and at 'em much earlier than I wanted to be. Then off to lunch and then to the outlets for more shopping.
Every one patiently put up with Hannah and her near-constant grumpiness. The combination of being under the weather, sporadic naps in the stroller, and being surrounded by strangers (yes, my own family qualify as strangers :( ) did not bode well for her. People just looking at her would send her into a full-blown meltdown. It was peachy.
Hooray for G.A.W.'s of any kind....especially Girls' G.A.W.'s!! Thanks, Mom, for putting this one together!!
2 comments:
What a great tradition! Looks like you had lots of fun!
I love this idea! It looks like you had a wonderful time. What a dear mother you have.
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