Fernandez Family of Five: Girls' Getaway...

On the weekend of May 11 - 13, I had the pleasure of going on a girls' getaway to Brevard, NC. My dear friend, Margaret, had access to a friend's cabin for free, and she invited 6 of her closest friends to join her for the weekend. All 7 of us packed into Margaret's van for the 4 hour trip and I never knew a 4 hour drive could be so fun. We talked, laughed, ate a lot, and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. I guess part of the reason the drive was so fun is that we did not have kids fighting and whining in the back seat, demanding potty breaks, and asking "are we there yet, how much longer?" However, I do have to admit a few of us in the back seats were asking "are we there yet" when we hit the winding mountain roads and were feeling a little car sick. :) We stopped in Asheville, NC for dinner and fell upon a neat little, family owned since 1974, Greek restaurant - thanks to Siri on my iphone - and had some amazing Greek salads and pizza. We had a great weekend being completely transparent with each other, sharing, laughing, crying, praying, relaxing, hiking, running, shopping and of course lots of eathing! It was the best getaway I have even been on, very much like a women's retreat but way more intimate since there were only 7 of us. I came back a better mom, wife, friend, and follower of God. I am so blessed by these women in my life and look forward to many more getaways with them in the future. We hope to make this a yearly tradition and get together here at home at least every other month. And I have to thank my wonderful husband for taking the time off to keep the kids so I could go on the much needed weekend away! Love you Tony!!!

Our cute, little mountain cabin.

Margaret's family friend, Carolyn, owns this beautiful home down the road from her guest cabin, where we were staying.

Carolyn has a beautiful, landscaped yard.

Here is the view of our cabin from Carolyn's house.

The gorgeous, breathtaking view from Carolyn's backyard. We went back there and just sat for a while, listening to the rushing water of a waterfall down below those trees. I could definitely live here!

A closer view of the mountains...

We went hiking/running at Triple Falls in Dupont Forest, supposedly this is where part of the "Hunger Games" movie was filmed.

The crew (Left to Right: Margaret, Kim, Robyn, Jackie, Amy, Me, and Dana.)

A beautiful view of Triple Falls...

The water was really rushing because they have had a lot of rain in Brevard lately, according to Carolyn.

I did not know Amy very well before this trip but we are SOOO alike and became fast friends. She is Robyn's sister (the one I co-direct with in Children's Ministries at Grace Hill) so I knew of Amy and knew a little about her from Robyn but did not realize how alike we were until we were together for the weekend.

Not only are Margaret and I best friends but we also think alike. We can read each others' minds, complete each others' sentences, and we always seem to wear the same clothes on the same day! Everyone was laughing at us because she and I both put on this shirt to go running (not planned) and then that evening we went to dinner and she and I both had on jeans and black shirts (not planned again). We must have been separated at birth! :) Another funny story, Margaret and I went shopping about 3 years ago and bought the same dress. I have not worn mine in about 2 years but thought about wearing it to church on Mother's Day, I didn't because I thought to myself, "I bet Margaret will wear the same dress to church today." Sure enough when she arrived at church she had on that dress, which she too had not worn in over a year! Like I said, we read each others' minds! :) I am so blessed by Margaret's friendship and all the memories we have shared together!!!

Margaret, Jackie and I climbed all the way up to the top of the falls. It was a rather challenging feat and somewhat crazy. No one else would go with us but we were determined to get to the top. We made it and were so thrilled with our accomplishment, but then we had to get down. :) That was quite funny and took several of our friends to hoist us down some of the rather large, slippery rocks. We were pretty dirty and I had a few scrapes but it was well worth it, the view was amazing! Plus, I am a Rugged Maniac - right?! :)

Making our way up the falls...

Here is the view from the very top of the falls...

When you turn around this is what you see right before the falls, it amazed me how calm the water was.

A neat, covered bridge we ran to.

After hiking and running, we freshened up and then went shopping in downtown Brevard. There were so many neat shops but this shop, The Eclectic Cottage, definitely grabbed our attention and we spent over an hour in this shop. It was a consignment shop and had a ton of really cool things. After shopping, we went to dinner at a neat restaurant called, Hobknobs, and sat out on their porch. We had amazing weather the whole weekend so it was so nice to be outdoors so much.

The cows grazing in the backyard of our cabin.

Posing with Bessie the cow...

Funny story: this cow, that we named Bessie, came right up to the fence where several of the girls were standing. I decided I wanted to say, "hi" so I walked over to the fence and said, "Hi cow I am your friend, I own a Chick-fil-A and we endorse eating more chicken." At that, the cow immediately turned and walked away. We all got a good laugh and I said, "well I should have worn my cow costume!" Then, I was telling Margeret the cow does not like me and she insisted that it did. So, I walked back over to the fence, without saying a word, and it quickly walked away - far away - from where I was standing. We got such a great laugh out of this and Margaret replied, "you are right, Bessie does not like you!" :) I was the only one Bessie would not get near.