35th Birthday Surprise!

This past weekend was simply amazing. My dear husband surprised me with a weekend getaway to a lovely country resort in Hampshire for my birthday. He gave me 4 cards, each marked, one of four, two of four etc...They gave me hints as to where we were going with the fourth card revealing the big plans!

The whole weekend was like an English fairytale! I would love to say that I got up early every morning and ran and that I ate so healthy but the truth is that we slept in, I relaxed by the pool, had tea with scones, indulged in spa treatments and I truly felt as if I was transported into a Jane Austin novel. It was beautiful. Normally our vacations are go go go! But this one was so relaxing. It felt strange at times, as if I was just laying there doing nothing! I have to say I loved it!! :)

We spent most of our at the resort but we did go into London for a day to show Kayla a few of our favorite places and to eat Indian food of course! It was funny. We were so excited about going to our favorite Sri Lankan restaurant but we did not realize that they were CLOSED on Mondays! What? We came all the way from Norway just to eat there.....not really but it makes for a good story :) We ended up eating at a lovely Indian restaurant called Mela. It was great but we cannot wait to go back in December and visit our Sir Lankan restaurant, it is truly the BEST!!

While at the resort, my precious girl enjoyed the resort grounds and for some reasons the chickens were a big hit!! They had horseback riding, cycling and other activities but for Kayla, it was the chickens that made her day! I think one of my favorite memories was swimming with Kayla. It was her first time to wear the floaties!! She was spinning around and having a blast! I will never forget holding her in the water and seeing the look on her face as she was discovering new things and ways to swim in the water! What a fantastic birthday gift this was for me to see my little girl having such a great time.

For me, it was the spa which is divine!! One day my husband and I went for a walk out to the lake and as we were approaching there stood two waiters from the resort along with a picnic basket with flowers laid out for us. My husband told me he has arranged a private picnic for my birthday but it was not exactly as planned. It seems that his original plan was for me to go running, then come across the picnic out on the trails along with a red ribbon stretched across as a finish line. You see, I was set to run the Edinburgh Marathon on Sunday which was my birthday but  as many of you know due to my knee/calf injury, I had to pull out of the race. My husband wanted to give me a "finish line" with my baby girl and him standing there waiting for me. As much as my husband planned the perfect picnic, he left the 4 meters of red ribbon at the house and therefore had to change the plans!! So instead he had the hotel place the picnic near the lake.....which was so lovely! I cried so hard when he was telling me what he had planned. It was the thought that made my heart melt. The fact that he thought of giving me the finish line on my birthday was just so sweet. It showed me once again his beautiful heart. He said in the end, it was a blessing that in the rush of packing for the trip he forgot the ribbon he had hidden from me as the day became not about the race that I did not run but about the celebration of what I had accomplished. I cannot tell you how special it was. I will never forget my 35th birthday. From the cake the hotel had for me upon arrival to the drivers that my husband set up to take us around, every detail was so special to me. I felt like a princess and so very loved. Here are a few memories of our trip. I will post more later on....