Moms Gone Wild 2K15

The idea started innocently enough. A nonchalant comment made at a girls night out fueled by wine, sushi and gossip: “Dinner and drinks are great and all, but we should go somewhere. Like, really GO somewhere.”

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Hilarious. Six moms? With school, sports, work and social schedules already so precariously balanced? Find a way to get away for a few days? SANS KIDS? Maybe in the year 2036.

And yet, that’s how we found ourselves the week after Labor Day…rollin’ six moms deep in the swagger wagon on our way to the BEACH.

I know. I KNOW. WE ACTUALLY DID IT!!

We had a really great time. It was everything we expected AND SO MUCH MORE {see: rainy day at the beach without kids means leisurely outlet shopping, cha-ching!}. We’ve already planned next year’s trip.

And with that, I will share with you the five things I learned from Moms Gone Wild 2K15:

5) If you have ever gone to the beach with kids, you’ve likely missed out on a WHOLE SET of amazing restaurants. {Ironically, our MGW2K15 trip was at the same beach I’d visited with my husband’s side of the family earlier in the summer. We had a WONDERFUL time…ate at great restaurants, did the sight-seeing thang…you, know, all the “beach stuff.”} BUT. BUT! I’d gotten some recommendations from a friend at work, this time. Guys, we ate at two of the MOST DELICIOUS restaurants. Spots I didn’t even know existed, even though I’d just spent a whole week there a few months earlier.

4) The act of “getting to the beach” is WAY less stressful. There was nary a goldfish cracker or juice box to be packed in a cooler. No sunscreen to apply on tiny wiggling bodies. Zero bags overloaded with beach toys, towels, swim diapers or “pacis.” There were six gals, six books, six chairs and a cooler. We each carried our own stuff, without complaints and in record time. There was one slight beach-related emergency when an unexpected gust of wind shot our pop-up tent down the beach like a torpedo. But, guess what? No kids…so we didn’t reeeeeally need that shade, anyway!

3) Everyone always says “moms need time for themselves” and while I’ve never disagreed, we’ve never been able to sync up more than a dinner out with my group of friends. And even then, it’s a bit of a watch-checking, non-relaxing time. When you’re gone – like, REALLY gone – you can totally relax {well, as much as any mama who is missing their babies can relax}. We read books, drank adult beverages, laughed, gossiped and ate dinner later than 5:30pm.

2) Now, while this isn’t something I “learned” on this trip, I can wholeheartedly say that being away reinforced the importance of one-on-one (or, as is our case, one-on-two) experiences between dads and kids. I travel fairly regularly for work, so my sweet husband is no stranger to parenting our kids on his own. But, when I received snapshots of their time together throughout my trip, it warmed my heart. As moms, we can all be a bit controlling sometimes, so I KNOW it’s nice for the dads to have some time without us, too! {I know, I know…not YOUR husband…he, he, he!}

1) The big joke about road trips with kids is how many times we hear “I have to go potty weeeeeeally bad” (and the accompanying panic that sets in as you frantically scan the horizon for an exit!) And what I will tell you about traveling with six moms who have 11 kids between us is this: even though the kids aren’t physically with us – it’s STILL technically their fault we stopped as much as we did {insert that frequently-used hysterically laughing emoji here}. Even though we stopped fairly frequently, those were some of the quickest bathroom breaks I’ve ever experienced on a road trip.

So, there you have it. Go on a trip. DO IT. I understand, not everyone can get away for four days. Not everyone can get away for one day. Start small and go from there. I’m so glad we turned that little offhanded comment into a real live trip.

It. Was. Amazing.